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My brother went through a court battle 3 years ago to prevent his ex wife from taking his teenage sons to Australia. She ended up taking his youngest but the eldest chose to stay in the UK with him. His eldest son is now 18 and lives with him, his youngest is 16 and is still in Australia. His ex is trying to claim maintenance through REMO for payments for his youngest son. During the original court case his ex wife stated in her statement to the court that if she were allowed to take either of her sons to Australia she would not claim for maintenance. My brother rarely has contact with his son as the plan for Skype etc have never been put in place and his son mostly refuses to speak to him. He earns only about £12 000 per annum and cannot afford to go to Australia to visit. Can REMO enforce these payments to his ex even though in her original statement she said she would not claim them? What would happen if he simply refused to do anything? He is living on a low wage, cares and supports his eldest son, can REMO enforce payments even if he can't afford them? He is struggling as he cannot afford a solicitor and is going to try and represent himself in court.
My father spent about £6000 fighting the battle for my brother, to prevent his sons being taken in the first place and now this is happening all over again. Surely he has rights to safeguard what little he does have and in doing so being able to still support his eldest son. His eldest son has just finished college and is looking for full time employment. At present he is working part time, so in effect is still fully dependent on my brother. He rents a house and has no savings, so the only way to claim would be through his wage, which is only just enough to live on.
This all seems very unfair and is going to potentially cost thousands to fight, or the alternative is that if he is forced to pay he could lose his home because he won't be able to afford the payments and his rent.
Have you any advice please from a very worried and anxious sister!
Hi,
I think he will be liable, but I've asked for one of our friends from Child Maintenence Options to pass by and advise. It can take up to two working days to get a reply, so please keep checking back for their response...
Cheers,
FM '70
Hi, I'm Sarah, a consultant at Child Maintenance Options.
Unfortunately, we can't look into individual cases.
However, you can find general information about child maintenance if a parent lives abroad (including if they live in Australia) here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/ChildMaintenance/Arrangingchildmaintenance/DG_199081
You could also contact the REMO Unit directly and explain your brother's situation. Their contact details are here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/DG_177531
I hope this information helps.
Sarah
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