The document provides guidance on tracing the whereabouts of a maintenance payer who lives overseas in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or South Africa when their address is unknown. It outlines that the court can request that the authorities in those countries make inquiries to locate the payer. It describes the procedure to follow which includes completing a questionnaire in duplicate and lodging it with the district judge along with an undertaking that any address received will only be used for the proceedings.
1. Practice Direction 34B –
Practice Note (Tracing Payers Overseas)
This Practice Direction supplements FPR Part 34
Difficulties can arise where a person in this country wishes to take proceedings under the
Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act 1920 or Part I of the Maintenance Orders
(Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972 to obtain or enforce a maintenance order against a payer
living overseas whose address is unknown to the applicant.
To mitigate these difficulties, arrangements have now been made with the appropriate authorities
in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, whereby the court may on request ask the
authorities in those countries to make enquiries with a view to tracing the whereabouts of the
payer. The following procedure should be followed.
On or before an application is made for a provisional maintenance order, or for transmission of an
absolute maintenance order under the above Acts by an applicant who does not know the payer’s
actual address in either Australia, Canada, New Zealand or South Africa, there should be
completed and lodged with the [district judge] a questionnaire, in duplicate, ([Principal] Registry
Form D312 or county court Form D85 as appropriate) obtainable from the registry or court office,
together with a written undertaking from the solicitor (or from the applicant if acting in person)
that any address of the payer received in response to the enquiries will not be disclosed or used
except for the purpose of the proceedings.
This Note is issued [in its original form] with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor.
Jordan Publishing
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