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When you get divorced in UK and your divorce is finalised with a legal agreement. Can French law supercede that agreement or do they have to recognise the UK divorce rules. I can't get the French to recognise my divorce rules. It says in my divorce no further claims. I mean ex is UK resident.... He is not obliged to support my 20 year old in UK... In France they are.
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Sounds exactly like support for oldies if they have to go into a nursing Home in France.  Unless the oldie can pay in full they can apply for "aide".  All children will be asked for income details wherever they are in the world. This is French law and if the children (say in the UK or anywhere else) refuse to give the information the "Aide" will be refused.

This is something I have experienced - I live in France and complied with the request  but a sibling not living in France refused. A court case ensued and the Judge gave an order for how much said sibling must pay. This enabled the Aide to be claimed and apparently the "powers that be" will chase for the money with a European writ. I would not recommend going to court as it is expensive and stressful but in our case was impossible to avoid.

If you have a word with an avocat you will be told that French law applies whatever the nationality of the person wanting the "aide". Your ex may not like it but the French expect the family to share costs.

I hope your daughter gets to Uni as she wishes.

Mrs H.

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 As a french resident, why did you divorce in the UK, rather than France where your children are.....

......... especially as the rules with regards to parental responsibility are very different???? And easy to find out.

I have to say as with most things, there is good and bad in both systems.

IF he does not contribute towards their upkeep, maybe, you need to get a letter from your ex husband stating that he refuses to give any details about his income and considers he is divorced from his children too........ that is just a suggestion and I have no idea if it would work.

And then IF that was the case,  throw yourself at the mercy of french authorities, asking if they can help when your kids have a salaud of a Papa.

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Thanks everyone.. Quite shocking the first reply. I can't believe that legal document in UK is not binding. Yes of course I'd love him to pay. He started the divorce in UK so i had no idea about this. How can you chase people all over the world. Ridiculous. We're resident since 2003. I can understand them taking my house as caution but they won't.... Against a student loan for example
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"ex is UK resident.... He is not obliged to support my 20 year old in UK... In France they are. "

I think that's your answer, isn't it. Under French law parents are responsible for dependent children and adult children are then responsible for dependent parents, and you can't opt out because that's how things work in France.

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I have a friend who is 30, she married very young and unwisely at 17 I think and the marriage only lasted 18 months (to the joy of her parents) I think the divorce followed swiftly but didn't ask.

 

We were talking about parents being responsable for their offspring and vice versa and she told me that if ever her ex goes off the rails she would be financially responsable and will be for the rest of her life, I think there were probably no assets or property to divide, no children thankfully so any monies that may be claimed or reclaimed in later years will have been monies earned after the divorce.

 

A neighbour divorced his alcoholic salope of a wife, it was a long time before there was a final settlement paid by him for the property, he had to remortgage and will be paying into his 80's she could at any time have claimed a pension alimentaire because her illness (drunken salope) prevented her from working and she had never worked and built up any social cober herself, which he would have had to pay for the rest of his life, I recall discussing this in detail with him, he preferred to give her a lumo sum advance of all the savings he had before the remortgage as it was odds on she would drink herself to death in short order, seemingly after the final divorce he was off the hook so there must have been some difference to my Young friends situation.

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Thanks for the replies.

If I had been in a good place emotionally perhaps I would've used French divorce but as in UK I think the clause paying until 18 or finishes lycée was pretty normal. I don't for instance know of any poor folks who can take their ex to court for university fees unless their ex is loaded?? One one letter from solicitor today UK was quoting me £180!!!!
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Perhaps not relevant to you, Georgina, but our ex neighbours split up and went back to England. There was a dispute over the custody of their young children, and that was brought to the Family Court in London. After many hearings eventually settled. Although the children were born in France, and are possibly therefore french.

The money and property side is being heard in the french courts, still not settled, after 3 years.

Huge legal fees, and more to come. They're both very bitter and won't give an inch.

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Patf, if they moved back to the UK, and if they were born to british parents, then I doubt these children will ever be french unless they move to France again.

LOL NH, what do we always say, look at the service public.fr web site, it is my bible for french information, I admit not 'everything' is there, but most things are.[:D]

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Hi

I really don't think any of us can help. We have given you links to the law.

Have you, for instance, legal cover on your insurance - perhaps they could advise. Otherwise perhaps see a Notaire. They only charge if they actually "do" something - you should be able to get a free appointment, or perhaps an Avocat.

Your quote for the UK solicotor is actally cheap (sad to say) but it should be cheaper to get  initial advice in France. In any case you would need someone in the UK who knows French law.

I do feel for you after our own 18 months of hell sorting out Aide for an oldie.

Mrs H.

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