Spanish law on unpaid child maintenance

AdeleLisa

I’m in need of advice before I get arrested in Spain
I’m a Spanish citizen but now live in England. I’ve met an English lady who has changed me life

Unfortunately I now have a nightmare on my hands. I was married to a Spanish girl who mothered two of my children , we separated in 2014 and divorced two years ago.
My children have both been brain washed by my ex and now my kids won’t speak to me!

My ex wife put in a court order in place for child maintenance, at the time I was earning £1000 a month and paying her £600 leaving me £400 to live off. So my partner and I struggled and it got so bad we lost our apartment. My ex as soon as she received the money gave up work
The Spanish courts have come up with a figure of what I should be paying. 6 months ago I lost my job and could no longer afford even a loaf of bread and being Spanish I wasn’t entitled to any help money wise. So I stopped paying the maintenance. I explained this to my ex!
I’ve now been told that I will be arrested and sent to jail should I return to Spain, this came from my ex wife. I want to see my two kids desperately although they no longer want anything to do with me as my ex makes up a nasty lilies

I dont know much about Spanish law on child maintenance although my ex wife seems to know an awful lot especially the bit about me getting arrested .



Wouldn’t it of been nicer if she thought about the children envolved and not use them as a weapon. Would they like to see there dad in jail!. My children no longer respect me which is very sad. It’s almost child abuse in her telling my kids nasty lies. They have even sent slandering messages to my partner calling her awful names and telling her she’s a scum. In my eyes you cannot use children to funnel through your anger like this.


Should I get a solicitor envolved or should I risk it and just go and see if she calls the police when I see my kids

I’ve used my partners account on here so no my names not Adele

Fares

Voyager2002

Have you tried contacting the Spanish consulate?


I do suggest that you find a way to contact the Spanish court and find out directly what is going on, and whether the figure for what you are supposed to pay can be revised in view of your income and employment history. Unless the solution is going to be straightforward, you would need to contact a Spanish abogado: a solicitor here would not know anything about Spanish family law.

NoodleDoodleMan

I have no idea how Spanish Law (or any other) works in your case - however could there be a "red flag" on your passport which will trigger the minute you enter Spanish territory ?

You really do need to speak with a solicitor, one who is up to speed on Spanish legal issues.

I dont know much about Spanish law on child maintenance although my ex wife seems to know an awful lot especially the bit about me getting arrested .

Perhaps she's taken expert legal advice ?

AdeleLisa

This is why I need advice because I would imagine I will be arrested

I will google the number for the Spanish consulate
I miss my kids so much but life has been very hard here! I will always try and pay when I can and as soon as I get a job I will try and back date it but having a partner that is very sick I can’t just leave her all day.

NoodleDoodleMan

I will google the number for the Spanish consulate

It's the Spanish Embassy that you'll need to approach.

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/londres/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan wrote: »

It's the Spanish Embassy that you'll need to approach.

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/londres/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx

Yes: most embassies have a Consular section that looks after the interests of their nationals in the country. Obviously you don't want to waste time discussing visas for Spain...

scrabster

I’m a Spanish citizen but now live in England.

I was married to a Spanish girl who mothered two of my children , we separated in 2014 and divorced two years ago.

My ex wife put in a court order in place for child maintenance.

The Spanish courts have come up with a figure of what I should be paying. 6 months ago I........stopped paying the maintenance.

I’ve now been told that I will be arrested and sent to jail should I return to Spain, this came from my ex wife.

I dont know much about Spanish law on child maintenance

Should I get a solicitor envolved or should I risk it and just go and see if she calls the police when I see my kids

A) Find out about Spanish Law in regards to maintenance.

Speak to a solicitor who deals with Spanish law, NOT a UK solicitor who doesn;t.

Caz3121

AdeleLisa wrote: »

The Spanish courts have come up with a figure of what I should be paying. 6 months ago I lost my job and could no longer afford even a loaf of bread and being Spanish I wasn’t entitled to any help money wise. So I stopped paying the maintenance. I explained this to my ex!
I’ve now been told that I will be arrested and sent to jail should I return to Spain, this came from my ex wife.

this looks like a handy start https://iclg.com/practice-areas/family-laws-and-regulations/spain
as the court has jurisdiction over maintenance, did you contact the them when your circumstances changed?

benjus

NoodleDoodleMan wrote: »

It's the Spanish Embassy that you'll need to approach.

http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/londres/es/Paginas/inicio.aspx

An embassy deals with the relationship between two countries, promoting trade, international co-operation and suchlike.

A consulate deals with personal matters for both the citizens of the country (passport renewals, registration of children born abroad etc) and foreigners (visas etc).

They may be located in the same building, but they have separate functions. Unless you're a diplomat or involved in international relations you always want the consulate.

Voyager2002

benjus wrote: »

An embassy deals with the relationship between two countries, promoting trade, international co-operation and suchlike.

A consulate deals with personal matters for both the citizens of the country (passport renewals, registration of children born abroad etc) and foreigners (visas etc).

They may be located in the same building, but they have separate functions. Unless you're a diplomat or involved in international relations you always want the consulate.

It often happens that they are located in the same building, and the consulate is known as the consular section of the embassy.

NoodleDoodleMan

I would always go to an Embassy in the first instance.