Finland and the United States agree on implementation of maintenance liability
3 April, 2006
Finland and the United States have entered into agreement on implementation of maintenance liability on Monday, 3 April. The agreement was signed by Irma Ertman, Director General of the Legal Department of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Marilyn Ware, the US Ambassador to Finland.
The purpose of the agreement is to create uniform and effective arrangements for implementing maintenance liability, recognising maintenance allowance decisions and confirming parenthood. The arrangements just agreed differ from the reciprocal arrangements now in force between Finland and various states of the United States in that this new agreement has been made at the federal level.
The new agreement gives better assurance that a child’s maintenance allowance decision reached in Finland can be recognised and implemented in the United States regardless of where the person with maintenance liability lives. Correspondingly, Finland will recognise and implement maintenance allowance decisions handed down in the United States. By virtue of the agreement, the central authority in Finland is the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Separate legislation must be enacted in order for the agreement to come into force at the national level in Finland.
Additional information: Hanna Rantala, Legislative Secretary, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5740