Because of the generosity of attorneys from around the world, this section is possible. When you view the country you are interested in, please remember to contact the attorney listed if you need legal help, or if you just want to send them a "thank you" for their kindness. It is because of them that we have a better understanding of how different countries treat child support matters.
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PHILIPPINES - Provided by ATTY. MARIA CLARA B. TANKEH-ASUNCION of
Syquia Law Firm
Support is defined under the Family Code of the Philippines (1988) as follows:
Art. 194. Support comprises everything indispensable for sustenance, dwelling,
clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation in keeping with the
financial capacity of the family.
The education of the person entitled to be supported referred to in the preceding
paragraph shall include his schooling or training for some profession, trade or
vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation shall include expenses
in going to and from school, or to and from place of work.
As enunciated in the Family Code, support is an obligation that arises from family
relationship and enumerates those entitled to be supported as follows:
Art. 195. Subject to the provisions of the succeeding articles, the following are
obliged to support each other to the whole extent set forth in the preceding article:
(1) The spouses;
(2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
(3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children
of the latter;
(4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate and illegitimate children
of the latter; and
(5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-blood.
The properties liable for the support of children are as follows:
1. The support for the common children of both spouses shall be taken from the absolute
community or conjugal property.
2. Likewise, the support for the children of a spouse by a previous marriage shall be
taken from the absolute community or conjugal property.
3. The support for the illegitimate children of either spouse will depend upon their
property relations, to wit:
3.1. Under the systems of absolute community- The separate property of the parent-spouse, but if the same is insufficient or there is
no such property, the absolute community property is liable, but the support is
considered as advances on the share of the parent to be paid by him to the community
at the time of liquidation.
3.2. Under the system of conjugal partnership - The separate property of the
parent-spouse, but if the same is insufficient or there is no such property, the
conjugal partnership property is liable if financially capable (i.e., if all the
legal obligations of the conjugal partnership have been covered or can be covered),
but the support paid to the child shall be deducted from the share of the parent-
spouse at the time of the liquidation of the partnership.
During the proceedings for legal separation, annulment of marriage or declaration of
nullity of marriage, child support pendente lite shall be taken from the absolute
community property or conjugal property.
The amount of support shall be in proportion to the
a) Resources or means of the giver; and,
b) To the necessities of the recipient.
Support can be reduced or increased proportionately, according to the reduction or
increase of the necessities of recipient and the resources or means of the person
obliged to furnish the same.
Therefore, an order for support is consequently subject to modification and never final.
A petition for support is never terminated.
The obligation to give support shall be demandable from the time the person who has a
right to receive the same needs it for maintenance, but it shall not be paid except from
the date of judicial or extrajudicial demand.
The right to receive support and any money or property obtained as such support are not
subject to attachment or execution by creditors because they are essential to the life
of the person entitled to support. But support in arrears is not exempt from the
attachment or execution as the reason for such exemption no longer exists.
Provisional Remedy for an Action for Support
Pendente Lite
A verified application for support pendente lite may be filed by any party stating the
grounds for the claim and the financial conditions of both parties, and accompanied by
affidavits, depositions or other authentic documents in support thereof.
A copy of the application and all supporting documents shall be served upon the adverse .
party, who shall have five (5) days to comment thereon.
After the comment is filed, the application shall be set for hearing not more than three
(3) days thereafter.
After hearing, the court shall provisionally make an order as justice and equity may
require. If the application is granted, the court shall fix the amount of money to be
provisionally paid taking into account the necessities of the applicant and the resources
or means of the adverse party, and the terms of payment or mode for providing the support.
If the adverse party fails to comply with an order granting support pendent lite, the
court shall issue an order of execution against him, without prejudice to his liability
for contempt. (Rule 61, Rules of Court.)
Effect of Foreign Judgments or Final Orders
The effect of a judgment or final order of a tribunal of a foreign country, having
jurisdiction to render the judgment or final order, is as follows:
(a) In case of a judgment or final order upon a specific thing, the judgment or final
order is conclusive upon the title of the thing; and
(b) In case of a judgment or final order against a person, the judgment or final order
is presumptive evidence of a right as between the parties and their successors in
interest by a subsequent title.
In either case, the judgment or final order may be repelled by evidence of a want of
jurisdiction, want of notice to the party, collusion, fraud, or clear mistakes of law
or fact. (Section 48, Rule 39, Rules of Court.)
If you have a case which you would like to persue in the Philippines, please
contact Attorney Tankeh-Asuncion at syquia@intlaw.com.ph.
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SCOTLAND - Written by Karen Bruce Lockhart, Partner, Brodies, W. S.
CHILD SUPPORT IN SCOTLAND
Since 5th April 1993 Child Support in Scotland has been dealt with by a Government
Agency called the Child Support Agency (the "CSA"). It has not been a success as the
criteria used are far too complicated to the extent that in order to work out the
figures properly it is, for instance, necessary to know such details as the capital
and interest elements of mortgage repayments for both parents. The CSA does not have
the staff to deal with the volume of work. The result has been that the CSA is
completely swamped and unable to cope. It is not unknown for some assessments to take
over five years to be carried out. In the meantime, the parent who could have previously
applied to the Court for an award of maintenance has no other means of obtaining any
Child Support from the non paying parent.
It is the Government's intent to reform and simplify the criteria very shortly. It is
however a difficult task to try and find a formula for calculating maintenance which
is both easy to process and fair to both parents.
However, at present any application for child support where both parents are resident
within the United Kingdom must be made to the Child Support Agency. It is not
possible to make any binding agreement to avoid the right of either party to apply to
the Agency, although clearly agreements can be made which make it unwise. There is a
ceiling on the payments by any one parent of Ł123.65 per week. Above this sum it is
possible to apply to the courts for "top up" in special circumstances, for instance
school fees: a parent can still apply to the Court for an order that the other parent
pays some or all the childs school fees and other educational costs.
A child is a qualifying child for the purpose of the CSA if under 19 and in full time
education. A parent is defined as the biological parent. The CSA cannot seek payment
of maintenance from a step parent. The courts have no jurisdiction if the child and
its parents come within the definiton in the Act.
If the child does not come within the definition, eg: one parent is resident abroad, or
the child is over 19, then the ordinary Scottish jurisdiction rules apply and any
court which has jurisdiction over the pursuer (plaintiff) or defender (defendant) can
deal with child support (called aliment in Scotland).
The criteria for aliment are laid down in the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985. The
court must have regard to the needs and resources of the parties, the earning
capacities of the parties (NB not incomes) and generally to all the circumstances of
the case. Aliment is owed to the child by a parent or a person who has accepted the
child as a member of his family - bringing step parents in to the equation - while the
child is under 18 or under 25 and in full time education. An application for aliment
may be made by the child, a parent or guardian, or person with whom a child lives or
who is seeking a residence order and an order can be made for a definite or indefinite
period , can be for occasional or special payment, for education etc., and can be
backdated. An agreement purporting to exclude future liability for aliment or to
restrict it is of no effect unless it was fair and reasonable in all the circumstances
when entered into. Any agreement in regard to aliment can be altered by the court in
a change of circumstances.
If you have a case which you would like to persue in Scotland, please
contact Attorney Lockhart at mailbox@brodies.co.uk .
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SLOVAK REPUBLIC - Written by Dr. Zdenka Bencíková of Aliancia Advokatov
In our country we respect a large number of legislative acts protecting children, but
also the international agreements of this area. The constitution of Slovak Republic in
the first article settled that the International agreements ratified and assured upon
the legislative act, are generally legally binding and they are preferential before acts,
when they safeguard the larger extent of fundamental rights and liberties than our laws.
This legally regulation provides compatibility of the Slovak legal order with the
international treaties, conventions and agreements.
It´s needfull to mention the most important international treaties accepted by SR, which
are from the objective area:
Generally Declaration of the Human Rights Treaty of the Child´s Rights The Constitution Act No.23/1991 Coll., by which the Bill of the Fundamental Rights and Liberties is executed Declaration of the Child´s Rights The International Treaty of the Suppresion of the Trade with the Women and Children The Treaty of the Education of the Children in the Ideals of Piece, Mutual Regard and Understanding Among the Nations
Of course, that other treaties about e.g. the least age of children, in which they can work in various areas of economy, about night-work of children, about collecting alimony and e.t.c. are accepted. The bipartite agreements whithin the SR and other states about legal aid and legal relations in civil, matrimonial and criminally matters are very important too. In the first place within the domestic legislative acts there is:
The Constitution,
others are:
Act on Family No. 94/1963 Coll. Act on the Private and Procedural International Law No. 97/1963 Coll. The Civil Court Rules Act No.99/1963 Coll. Act on Fond of Children and Youngs No.189/1993 Coll.,
and a large number of others acts, for example social ones.
According to the respecting and enforcement of the foreign judgments it is needfull to go through the provision of § 63 and followings of the Act on Private and Procedural International Law. Following to the § 63 the foreign judgments (in civil, matrimonial, labour matters and in other similar relations with international element), such as the foreign agreed judgments and the foreign notarial letters in this matters are efficient in Slovak republic only if they are genuine and valid upon the probate of competent foreign authority and if they are recognized of our bodies. Some kind of decisions, which are specified in the § 64 a) - e), cannot be recognized either enforced in SR.
The recognization of the foreign judgments in property relations is not mentioned in the special act, in actual they are respected as Slovak decisions. The foreign judgments can be enforced only if the Slovak court orders their enforcement. Genuide and valid foreign judgments in marital matters and in the matters of determination of the paternity, if only one of the parties in despute is Slovak citizen, and genuide and valid foreign judgments in adoptions of the child who is Slovak citizen, are recognized in Slovak republic if there is a specific decision of the Supreme Court of Slovak republic in this case and if this foreign judgement doesn´t set the Act on Private and Procedural International Law at defiance. This foreign judgment can be recognized only when the subject matter of the objective act was founded by the way which is consistent to the provisions of the Slovak law. The foreign judgments have the same legal effects as the Slovak genuide and valid decisions without any other needful procedure but if only all those participating were in peremptory time the citizents of the state which made the objective decision. The second condition is that this judgment doesn´t set the public order at defiance.
If you have a case which you would like to persue in the Slovak Republic, please contact Dr. Zdenka Bencíková at kovacova@aliancia.sk . ****************************************************************************
