Your kids' father is in Mexico and sends nothing. What can you do from the U.S.?

Often yes, by opening a case in the Mexican court where he lives. That is usually more effective than trying to reach him with a U.S. order, because Mexican courts can garnish wages, seize property, and impose other measures against someone who is physically in Mexico. We review your facts in the consultation first.

Not automatically. Mexico is not a party to the 2007 Hague child support convention, so the streamlined agency-to-agency route the U.S. uses with other countries does not apply. A U.S. order has to be recognized by a Mexican court through a proceeding called exequatur. That is work we do on the Mexican side.

Deportation does not end a parent's support obligation. What changes is where you can realistically enforce it. In many of these cases the practical answer is to pursue an order in the Mexican court where he now lives, rather than trying to collect a U.S. order from across the border. We look at both in the consultation.

There is no automatic percentage and we cannot promise you an amount. The judge weighs two things: what the person receiving support needs, and what the person paying can afford. Percentage tables you find online are not a statutory formula. That is why documenting real expenses matters so much.

No, and the mistranslation causes real confusion. In Mexican law pensión alimenticia covers support for children and, separately, for a spouse — and it can extend to other relatives. Alimony in U.S. usage means spousal support only. When we talk about your case we say which one we mean.

Food, clothing, housing, and health care. For children who are minors it also covers their schooling — preschool, elementary, and middle school. It is broader than the grocery money many people assume, and that breadth is often the difference between a workable order and one that does not cover the real costs.

It does not end automatically at 18. It depends on each child's situation — whether they are still studying, for instance, or have a condition that prevents them from supporting themselves. This is a real difference from most U.S. states, and we review the current Nuevo León rule against your children's circumstances.

Yes, there is a specific filing to increase support. It is brought when the receiving party's needs have changed or the paying party's situation has improved, and it is proven with documents: tuition, medical costs, rent. Bring the existing ruling to your consultation and we look at it.

Stopping on your own is not the route, because the debt keeps accumulating and the consequences fall on you. What exists is a suspension or modification filing brought before the court when circumstances change. Come to a consultation and we review what can be filed and when.

A parent's obligation to support a child does not depend on the parents having married. What does have to exist is legally established parentage — the father has to be legally recognized. If he is not on the birth certificate, a paternity case comes first.

It is a common situation and there are routes, though it complicates the case. Tell us what information you do have about that person — last known address, family in Mexico, employer history — and in the consultation we tell you what can realistically be filed.

Mexican courts have enforcement measures against someone living in Mexico, including direct payroll deduction. Other measures exist and their availability depends on the case and the current Nuevo León rules. We file for enforcement in the same court that heard your case and tell you honestly what to expect.