Re­cov­er­ing child main­ten­ance from a debtor abroad: Re­cog­ni­tion and en­force­ment of Ukrain­i­an judg­ments

De­vel­op­ment sum­mary

Nat­aliya Or­tyn­ska ex­am­ines how child main­ten­ance can be re­covered when the debtor is abroad. The author notes that the issue has become press­ing be­cause of the war in Ukraine and the mass de­par­ture of cit­izens, and points out that Ukrain­i­an civil pro­ced­ure allows main­ten­ance claims to be brought at the claimant's place of res­id­ence.

The parent living with the child may apply to the com­pet­ent au­thor­it­ies of the state where the debtor is loc­ated for re­cog­ni­tion and en­force­ment of the Ukrain­i­an judg­ment. Be­sides a cer­ti­fied copy of the final judg­ment, this re­quires proof that the judg­ment has been partly or wholly un­en­forced in Ukraine and proof that the de­fend­ant was duly no­ti­fied of the pro­ceed­ings. Be­cause some states will not en­force main­ten­ance fixed as a per­cent­age of income, the author re­com­mends award­ing main­ten­ance as a fixed sum.