All Family Law, All Around the WorldSM

International Family Law Agreements; Making It All Work.

On Behalf of | Nov 15, 2016 | International Family Law

I’m not sure how many Americans will move to Canada as a result of the elections, but we, at the Manely Firm, P.C., have an astounding number of clients that need help with prenuptial, post-nuptial, or separations agreements that are enforceable internatonally and in Georgia.

There are different scenarios: some of our clients work and reside overseas, but plan on retiring in Georgia with time. Others are married to spouses from abroad and moved permanently, but still want to have some security back home in case their marriage does not work out. Some of our clients have businesses and marital assets in different countries or different states and spend their time between two continents or between two states. Further, we have some military clients who are stationed abroad and married locals in Germany, Japan, Great Britain, etc. And I some are ex-pats who are avoiding Administrations that are not to their liking.

In the United States, the majority of Family Law issues are regulated on the state level. Thus, to make sure that agreements are enforceable outside of Georgia, we collaborate with a wide network of lawyers from different states and from many different countries. Crafting pre-nuptial, post-nuptial or settlement agreements is an extremely complicated task as the law and regulations from one state and one country to the next can be so different. For example, some countries do not even recognize pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements. England, for one, does not recognize such agreements – their courts consider pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreements to be a violation of public policy.

Not only are there laws and regulations in each state and in each nation, there are treaties between cooperating countries on a variety of issues. In attempting to coordinate and harmonize international law, we also have to take into consideration those international treaties which can make or break any deal.

On that subject, I am especially excited that the United States finally deposited its instrument of ratification for the Hague Convention on the International Recovery on Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance which will enter into force for the United States in January 2017. This Convention will establish uniform, fast, and affordable procedures for international child support enforcement and other obligations. It would allow more children who live in the United States to receive financial support from their parents, even when their parents live abroad. The Convention would also enable recognition and enforcement of some spousal support orders between participating countries, which is a novelty for the United States . This is a huge step forward for the United States and is a result of many years of hard work toward ratification of the Hague Convention on the International Recovery on Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.

So, not only is the landscape vast, as vast as the world, it is constantly shifting like the oceans between the continents. It can be a serious challenge to keep up with ever changing laws everywhere and to remain able to compare, contrast and craft an integrated solution to handle every contingency. But, that’s what we do.

No matter how complicated your issue, the Manely Firm,P.C. remains well-equipped to help. Please give a call to schedule a free consultation.

Archives