This section deals with getting maintenance from someone who lives abroad.
Translation of Plea Against Non-Hebrew Speaker Living Overseas
Question:
How can a mother living in Israel take legal action to get child maintenance from the father, if he lives abroad permanently at a known address , and does not understand Hebrew ?
Answer:
A minor child has a right to maintenance from his biological father even if he lives abroad permanently, and is not a citizen or resident of Israel . His mother , who is his natural guardian, can file the plea on his behalf, in Israel, at the family court . When the plea is made application must also be made and obtained for the plea to be served (delivered) overseas. Once the court gives permission for service overseas, then it gains jurisdiction in relation to the defendant abroad and allows it to hear the case in Israel. If the father does not know Hebrew then there is a legal obligation to provide him with a properly authorised translation of the documents – from Hebrew into a language he understands.
Serving Plea Against Defendant Whose Exact Overseas Address Unknown
Question:
How can I serve a child maintenance plea against my child's father, if I know his full name, and which city abroad he lives in, but not the exact address ?
Answer:
When you file the maintenance plea, as well as applying for permission to serve out outside Israel, in order to gain jurisdiction, you can also apply for 'substituted service', permission to 'serve' it in the form of an announcement in the press in that city, or country, rather than by delivery of the documents to the father himself. The court will give instructions about the number of times you must make the announcement in the newspaper abroad etc.
Child Maintenance Enforcement Options – Father Overseas
Question:
I want to file my ex-boyfriend for child maintenance. He was a tourist in Israel for some time and he returned home after we split up. He is registered as the child’s father. If I do get a judgment from an Israeli court awarding child maintenance can I be sure of getting the money if the father is abroad and does not pay ?
Answer:
Firstly, there is a problem in enforcing a maintenance judgment against a foreigner living overseas. This is because the Bailiff’s Office in Israel – which deals with the actual enforcement of court judgments and decisions – can only do so against people and property physically present in Israel. Having said this, if a mother in Israel has a judgment from an Israeli court awarding child maintenance she can check out the possibility of it being recognised and enforced in the particular country where the father lives.
Previously it was possible for a mother with a child maintenance judgment from an Israeli court, but who does not actually receive the maintenance from the child’s father ,who lives abroad , to apply to get it via the Israeli National Insurance Institute according to the Maintenance (Guarantee of Payment ) Law of 1972. This is no longer possible.
Serving Maintenance Plea In Palestinian Authority
Question:
I am a Christian Israeli Arab woman married to a Moslem man who comes from the Palestinian Authority .We are separated, me returning to Israel with the children and him remaining in the Palestinian Authority . I want to file him for maintenance for our children. How will he be able to get the plea ?
Answer:
If ‘service’ of a court plea in Israel is to be made to someone living in the Palestinian Authority then according to the Emergency Order ( Judea, Samaria & Gaza Strip- Jurisdiction in Offences and Legal Assistance) (Palestinian Authority Territories) – Legal Assistance In Civil Matters ) of 1999 this can be done by passing it to a special appointee who is appointed by the minister of justice. He will then be responsible for serving the defendant or respondent with the plea. Thus a plea for child maintenance filed at an Israeli family court can be served on a defendant living in the Palestinian Authority via the special appointee.
If, because of the current security situation it is impossible to serve the husband with the plea, the wife may not be able to get a decision awarding maintenance against him at an Israeli family court. However, if despite everything, she does manage to effect service of the plea and she does manage to get an ex-parte judgment if the husband does not appear or file a written defence, then she can apply to the National Insurance Institute and ask it to pay the maintenance instead according to the 1972 Maintenance Law (Guarantee of Payment).
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