How Can I Enforce Visitation Order in Florida

by Kevin from Cayman Islands

How can I ensure the current court order is enforced in the State of Florida? Is it possible to petition to have more defined visitation, and some assistance whilst he is visiting with me?

My 8yr old son currently resides with his mother (my ex-wife) in Florida.

We were married and subsequently divorced in the Cayman Islands (which is where I currently reside) and have a court order that details maintenance and access arrangements.

Despite the court order my ex-wife refuses to advise on the living and insurance arrangements of our son. She also refuses to provide any information on how funds are spent and has a history of inflating his aftercare expenses by 100%.

More of a concern for me is that she seeks to limit his time spent with his family in Cayman, and for this summer has decided to enroll him in Summer school in Florida and further reduce his time with me his father to less than half of the summer.

When the divorce was finalized my ex-wife claimed to have US$0.00 income and therefore generous arrangements were made for me to pay 100% of his health insurance, 100% of Cayman travel expenses and payments are made by me even when the child is in Cayman for the summer, with no assistance to me from my ex-wife. She has since finished University, has a steady income, and has decided to have another child.

Answer to Florida Child Visitation Question

Dear Kevin,

Since your court order originates in the Cayman Islands that is where you need to have it modified.

In the State of Florida, the Florida Department of Revenue, is the entity that collects and enforces child support, visitation, and custody orders.

The process within the U.S. for foreign orders (foreign orders from other states) is to register the order with the state where you are requesting enforcement.

For example, if there were an existing child support order in Florida, and the non-custodial parent was living in South Carolina, and behind on child support, before South Carolina could enforce the Florida order, it must be formally registered as a "foreign order" in South Carolina.

And, even though it was registered as a foreign order for enforcement it could not be modified in South Carolina unless jurisdiction were completely transferred. I believe, under international law, a U.S. state can enforce an existing order from another country.

The Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), a federal agency, oversees the individual states' child support enforcement efforts, and I believe can also enforce visitation and assist you. The contact information for the OCSE that oversees Florida's Department of Revenue is:

OCSE Program Manager
Admin. for Children and Families
61 Forsyth St. Suite 4M60
Atlanta, GA 30303-8909
(404)562-2871

The following link is to a memo regarding reciprocity agreements between the U.S. and the U.K. and child support enforcement issues.

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