Child Support Enforcement - Sarpy County Nebraska
Child Support Enforcement - Sarpy County Nebraska
Child Support Enforcement - Sarpy County Nebraska
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<strong>Nebraska</strong> has signed reciprocity agreements for the establishment and enforcement of<br />
child support orders with the following nations: Australia, Canada (the provinces of Alberta,<br />
British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland/Labrador,<br />
Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon), the Czech<br />
Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, portions of Mexico (27 individual<br />
states), The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Sweden, Scotland,<br />
Switzerland , The United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Wales) and Yap. (Also see this<br />
State Dept. Link; note that it admits it may be out-of-date.) Working international support cases<br />
with countries not on this list is also possible if no one objects and you obtain the cooperation of<br />
the other nation’s child support system.<br />
An extremely useful 77 page guide for workers/attorneys who share cases with Canada<br />
may be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/pol/IM/2011/im-11-01a.pdf In addition,<br />
the Canadian Department of Justice has a useful link describing their child support laws, written<br />
in layman’s terminology: http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fcy-fea/sup-pen/index.html<br />
Note: Additional resources relating to International <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Support</strong> (Maintenance), including a<br />
treatise on currency conversion, and a PowerPoint presentation on International <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Support</strong>, may<br />
be obtained by emailing Bill MacKenzie at Billm @sarpy.com.<br />
II. Full Faith & Credit issues<br />
Many European nations (plus Canada, Argentina and parts of Mexico) apply their<br />
marriage laws without regard to gender. Same sex divorces will ultimately find their way<br />
into the mix of cases we are asked to enforce. See the Same Sex Marriage<br />
subheading for more information in this regard.<br />
In November 2007 an International Protocol affecting maintenance for children<br />
was concluded by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The<br />
organization is described as being “The World Organisation for Cross-border Cooperation<br />
in Civil and Commercial Matters.” You can read a helpful overview of the<br />
organization here as well as their FAQ page.<br />
Of particular interest to the child support community would be the following<br />
agreements/documents, concluded in November 2007:<br />
CONVENTION ON THE INTERNATIONAL RECOVERY OF CHILD SUPPORT<br />
AND OTHER FORMS OF FAMILY MAINTENANCE, (PDF Version);<br />
An Outline of the above document; and the<br />
PROTOCOL ON THE LAW APPLICABLE TO MAINTENANCE OBLIGATIONS<br />
(PDF version)<br />
The United States is a signatory to the Protocol and<br />
Convention, however the treaty has yet to be submitted to the<br />
U.S. Senate for ratification; this may occur late in 2008. The<br />
individual states will also have to update their UIFSA laws to<br />
dovetail with the provisions contained in the Convention, before it<br />
will be enacted. To date no other nation has ratified the<br />
Convention, which will also be required before it takes effect.<br />
III. Currency Conversion issues<br />
Federal court rulings have long held that all judgments set by<br />
courts in the United States should to be paid in dollars, and not in<br />
foreign currency. This solves some potential problems, but can lead to<br />
other issues. When we register foreign child support orders for<br />
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