Yesterday I met a friend, a colleague from high school. We hadn't seen each other for a long time, oh a long time. Right after graduating from high school, she and her husband left for England. She told me her story and actually problem concerning the enforcement of maintenance from a former spouse, Who still resides in the Islands. I thought this might be a good topic for the first substantive post on this blog. An acquaintance returned to Poland with her son after a turbulent divorce. She has applied for alimony, even received a Polish court judgment, but there is no sign of her ex-husband....
How do you enforce maintenance from a debtor living in another EU country whose address you do not even know?
One of the many positive things that our accession to the European Union has brought us is the obligation to apply and enforce Union Law, among other things created for the situation described, Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations. The name of the regulation is long, but in a nutshell we can say that this act describes and introduces the so-called SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE for the enforcement of ALIMENTARY BENEFITS and it is completely free of charge. A colleague was pleased to hear that she would not have to travel to the UK for Justice. The problem of finding out the debtor's current address is also not a problem for the claim.
But where to start? - She asked.
The basis is a final judgment awarding child support.
If the child and one parent reside in Poland, the court with jurisdiction to award maintenance will be the court of the claimant's place of residenceThe child and his or her legal representative, e.g. the mother or the father, respectively. After all, the child's mother may also be obliged to pay maintenance.
With such a judgment already in place, it will be necessary to complete an application for the enforcement of maintenance from abroad.
This can be done on the appropriate form, together with a declaration of ignorance of the current address of the maintenance obligor.
In the application, you must indicate your contact details, i.e.: full, current address, as well as the debtor's details (name, surname, date and place of birth, parents' names, last known address, identification or national insurance number, telephone number and any other information relating to the debtor which makes it possible to establish his current whereabouts).
The application shall be accompanied by:
- a copy of the child's abbreviated birth certificate,
- a copy of the decision awarding maintenance (judgment, order, settlement),
- a detailed breakdown of maintenance arrears by year and month, including a list of maintenance payments made, with the amounts paid, the currency, the dates on which the payments were made and the total amount of maintenance owed.
The completed application and all attachments are sent to the address of the District Court of the creditor's domicile, Foreign Trade Division, or brought in person.
The procedure I have described concerns enforcement of maintenance in all countries of the European Union with the exception of Denmark.
Delighted to be able to help my long-lost friend, I hurriedly sipped my coffee and, saying goodbye, ran to the hearing.
