Q about child maintenance

[ErnieAndBernie]

So if I live in UK and stbxh lives in Europe but visits regularly to see kids (like every other weekend ) but sees them in the family house how would child maintenance be worked out?
We'd both still be paying mortgage (%each not yet agreed )

Is he paid in the UK? Or is he in the forces?

Paid in euros. European company.

CMS can't touch him, so it will be up to the court, they'll look at your unmet needs, his available income, and I would imagine also consider what the CMS would order if he were over here.

Thanks. I thought it might be something like that.

That assumes you divorce here. Please tell me you have issued here?

If he issues first in an EU country you are stuck with their rules, and England &Wales is generally much the best for the financially weaker party.

I read that the other day. He doesn't speak the local language over here which would really put him off.
Am I right in thinking that once put the application in that is enough to begin with?

Actually he can't apply for it over here unless he can prove we've been separated for more than 6 months. We still live together and haven't told the kids yet plus still go on plenty of family things so he wouldn't be able to prove it at all.
But still, I need to be on the case!

According to the law, there is an irrebuttable presumption that the marriage has broken down10 if (i) the spouses have lived apart for one year and both spouses petition for divorce or the respondent consents to divorce or (ii) the spouses have lived apart for at least three years. The latter alternative (three-year separation) enables one spouse to dissolve the marriage against the will of the other spouse.

The spouses are living apart if there is no domestic community between them and it is apparent that a spouse does not intend to restore such community because he rejects conjugal community. This could be either the case if one spouse moves out of the matrimonial home or if the spouses live apart in the matrimonial home, i.e. live in separate rooms and have no further joint housekeeping11. Living together for a short period (up to three months based on a case-by-case basis) which is intended to reconcile the spouses does not interrupt or suspend the described above one-year-period and the three-year-period, respectively12.

I think I'm ok. The law (and the country in general) is extremely bureaucratic, things need to be proved and backed up and I could very easily contest things if he did this.