Legal Question in Family Law in California

Alimony & emigration

Is it possible to avoid alimony payments by moving to another country? An extradition wouldn't be possible in such a case, would it?


Asked on 3/26/09, 2:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Donald McLeod Donald R. McLeod Law Corp.

Re: Alimony & emigration

It is possible to slow the process down, but in many cases there are treaties in place which require the foreign government to collect support payments and remit them to the collection authority in relevant Canadian Province. For practical purposes, the international border does not exist. The concept of extradition does not apply because it is something that applies to criminal actions, not disputes between individuals. In any case, extradition would not be necessary because many foreign governments take the necessary action to collect on the Canadian support order. For those countries where there is no agreement to reciprocally enforce support orders (and many of them are countries you would not want to live in anyway) a Provincial Court can often be convinced to issue an arrest warrant (which is executable only in Canada) but then it can be sent to the foreign country and it may then deport (throw out of the country) the person. The Canadian government may revoke the passport or refusee to renew it, so permission to remain in a foreign country (which is usually dependant on a valid passport)ends, and you must leave or be deported. Moving out of Canada to avoid obligations is almost always not a good idea.

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Answered on 3/29/09, 10:52 am


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