State child support laws overrule Japanese court

QMy ex-wife and I are U.S. citizens. Five years ago, my job took us to Japan. Last summer my company transferred me back to Massachusetts. My wife wanted to stay in Japan with our children for a few more months while I got settled.

Now — instead of coming here — she’s staying in Japan with her male “soulmate.” She filed a court case there asking for sole custody of our three children, child support and alimony. I was served with papers in Massachusetts. But I didn’t file an appearance in the Japanese court. I was told that child support in Japan is based on what the wife claims she needs without a need to substantiate her numbers.

The Japanese court granted her a divorce and entered a child support order that was way above what I could afford. So I paid what a Massachusetts court would order me to pay. Then, because I didn’t pay the

full child support, my ex filed a contempt charge in Japan. That court held me in contempt and ordered that my share of our joint assets in Japan be my ex’s property.

My ex is in Massachusetts for the summer so I can spend time with our children. She registered the Japanese child support order in the Massachusetts probate court and a complaint for contempt for not paying that full amount. What are my options?

AFirst, because you need to navigate technical waters, hire a family law lawyer who is experienced in international divorce cases.

Within 20 days after you received notice, you need to file your opposition and objection to your ex’s registration and a request for a hearing.

Argue that you were not a resident of Japan when your ex filed her case there. So, while that court could enter the divorce, it didn’t have personal jurisdiction over you. Therefore that child support order isn’t enforceable here.

Get certified copies of all the documents your ex filed in the Japanese court and get those documents translated into English. Use that material to prove she gave false information to that court. You’ll also need an expert on Japanese family law to testify how child support is determined in Japan. Then, beyond the no-personal jurisdiction and fraud issues, argue that Massachusetts public policy requires — as does federal law — that child support must be determined by the Child Support Guidelines. So the Massachusetts court cannot give comity to the Japanese order issued by using unsupported claims.

Also file a complaint to modify the Japanese custody and child support orders. Massachusetts law requires child support orders to be what the Massachusetts guidelines require. And parenting is based on what is best for your children — not what’s best for your ex.

In the words of Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Japan’s most respected samurai, “If you wish for peace, then prepare for war.”