Child Maintenance when Dad in UAE?

[LCE2023]

Hi! Seeking advice on being able to enforce child maintenance now that my ex husband has moved to the UAE.
We divorced 2 years ago and have never had a formal child maintenance agreement in place for our daughter. Instead he made monthly (somewhat inadequate!) contributions, but gave something, and after the divorce/child arrangement/financial order battle I just couldn’t face another saga!!
He has since moved to lead an Emiratee school in the UAE and has stopped making any financial contribution, despite earning £8k a month!! He now no longer ‘habitually resides’ in the UK, but does have several UK properties that are rented. I believe he has UK accounts and pays tax on the rental income received from the properties.
Without formally applying for UK CMS, they have suggested they will be unable to enforce as he no longer resides in the UK and the UAE does not participate in the REMO. However he is still a UK citizen and does have a registered property UK business. Does anyone have any experience of this? It seems there maybe a claim to be made against his UK assets and taxable UK income?
Help would be welcomed!! Thank you!

Why have you posted this 3 times????

I'm sorry nobody was able to help - I'm sorry to say am in a similar position with ex being in non REMO country and not paying, although we have a financial order in place (only court orders are appropriate for Non REMO - CMS don't have jurisdiction and also you might be wise to be careful of going down that route as their calculations are based on what he declares, as I understand). I think ultimately there is little that can be done, even though I've been told in theory they can be arrested for breaching a court order, I don't think that ever happens (I know you don;'t have one in place - it might be worth you getting advice about applying for one).. I have no idea how much my ex earns - he gave zero disclosures for his activities in the UAE despite living there since 2020, and the judge took him on face value that he had no income, despite the fact he'd been living there for 3 years (not exactly the cheapest place for an expat to live, and he was travelling extensively).

@LCE2023 hi there, I seem to have missed this thread.

I do have personal experience of the REMO system and give advice on various FB groups, including my own which is Get child maintenance from Abroad (REMO) - sorry about the plug! As has already been said here, there are no agreements with the UAE and as he resides in that country, it is considered his habitual residence. His nationality is irrelevant.

However, you say he works for a prestigious school. So have you thought about a bit of naming and shaming - ie contacting his superiors and mentioning that he doesn't pay child support despite an agreement being in place? As he's a teacher I would imagine this wouldn't go down well. Many of the parents I communicate with do similar and get results.

I've read that in Dubai (another country where there is no reciprocating agreement) you can lodge your debt with Dubai debtors court. You would have to 'threaten' the debtor and then engage a collection agency.

@LCE2023 sorry, just reread and see that you don't have an agreement in place. Maybe worthwhile finding out if you can enforce against his assets here. That would really pxx him off and get a charging order on his property. Maybe speak to a lawyer on Single Parent Support and Advice Services FB group for some free legal advice, or ask CAB?

I am currently in this process with REMO
3 years in and just had an emai today

We inform you that we have requested information from the corresponding State Attorney's Office.
We will inform you as soon as possible’

no correspondence …. Nothing

@Lynnda01 Hi there, I'm so sorry to hear that you've been waiting this long. The MEBC and REMO are notoriously bad at their job. I know that there have been serious financial cutbacks and COVID, but their systems are antiquated as well. Other countries/states are more 'customer' focused than the UK. It is just outrageously unforgivable to allow children to go without child support for this length of time without an end in sight. Have you thought about contacting your MP? Some MPs get involved and this moves things along. After all, their job is to work for their constituents. Other MPs are useless.

I assume when you say State Attorney's office that your ex is in the US? If so, which state as each has different procedures? Just to let you know that I have my own FB group and recently there has been a reasonable amount of activity with the US. Some states allow you to contact them direct.

My FB group is called Get Child Maintenance from Abroad (REMO). You can join if you wish, but it is not compulsory and you can be anonymous if you wish. I only ask that you answer the questions, as this is a closed group.

You can also contact me via this email address as I volunteer for another FB group - Single Parents Support and Advice Services. My email address is [email protected]. You can also private message me on here, too, should you wish.

@LCE2023 @MajesticSloth I don't know if you have joined my Facebook group, but there is one parent on there who lived in the UAE and gave good advice about how to take the other parent to court for unpaid child maintenance. Or alternatively, contact his employer if he is not a citizen of said country. (4) Get Child Maintenance From Abroad (REMO) | Facebook that approach was successful with another parent. Being in a foreign country on a visa is a precarious position if you do not comply with the law.