How Can I Collect Child Support Arrears If The Non-custodial Parent Lived In Another Country Before The USA?

Q: My son father lived on a small island and over a year ago moved to the USA. Due to no reciprocal agreement between two country I did not proceed with the child support paperwork as my lawyer there advised me to proceed with this matter in New York. I then filed a petition for child support in New York of which a temporary order was given for him to pay child support and arrears up to the time I filed the petition in New York. But the judge did not mention arrears that I was seeking five years prior to me filing the petition when he was living on the small island.

A: You must register the foreign support order in NY for enforcement purposes. FCA 580-601 explicitly states that a “foreign support order may be registered in this state for enforcement.” The clerk’s office should be able to give you the proper form – or you can obtain it off the court’s website: http://www.nycourts.gov/forms/familycourt/uifsa.shtml. Call a Westchester Family Law attorney for more info or to schedule a consultation.