The Official Solicitor is an independent statutory office holder. His office (together with that of the Public Trustee) (OSPT) is an arms length body of the Ministry of Justice. The Official Solicitor and the Public Trustee each have a number of separate functions, although their respective trusts, estates and deputy services are managed by the same team. The services they each provide can be best understood by reference to their respective statutory duties and functions.

Who this section is for

• Legal practitioners and the judiciary

What’s in this section

• Court of Protection - adult healthcare and welfare applications
• Court of Protection – property and affairs applications
• Acting for parents
• Acting for children
• Dissolution of marriages and civil partnerships
• Civil litigation
• International child abduction and contact unit
• Trusts and deputy services
• Child Trust funds
• Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (REMO)

For members of the public

If you are a member of the public and require more information about mental capacity and the law, you can find it on Directgov

Reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders

Reciprical enforcement of maintenance orders (REMO) is how:

• maintenance orders made by UK courts, on behalf of UK residents, can be registered and enforced by courts or other authorities in other countries against people resident there; or
• a claim for maintenance by a UK resident against a person resident in another country can be dealt with in that country.

REMO is also how orders made in other countries can be dealt with here.

The Lord Chancellor delegates his operational responsibilities as the transmitting and receiving agency and Central Authority to the REMO Unit, which is located in the Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee.

How to apply

A UK resident who wishes to apply to obtain maintenance from a person overseas should contact:

• their local magistrates' court (or county court where the order was made) if they have an existing court order for maintenance; or
• their local magistrates' court if there is no existing order.

Countries and territories with reciprocal maintenance arrangements with the United Kingdom

The UK has REMO arrangements with more than 100 countries and territories worldwide.

Download the full list of countries (PDF 0.4Mb)

Conventions and agreements

The UK is part of several international conventions on maintenance obligations, including:

• the 1956 United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance
• the 1968 Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters; and
• the 1973 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations.

In addition, the UK has agreements for maintenance enforcement with most members of the Commonwealth and with most of the United States of America. The process involved in each case depends on the convention or agreement of which the other country is a part.

Obtaining and enforcing maintenance decisions in the 27 EU countries

The following forms are for use if you are in one EU country and you want to obtain or enforce a maintenance order in another EU country.

The guidance notes are for use if you are in England and Wales.

To apply for recognition or declaration of enforceability or enforcement of a decision relating to maintenance obligations use the following form and guidance notes:

REMO 7 - Application form (referred to in Annex VI of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009) (PDF 0.12mb)
REMO 7 notes - Guidance for completing REMO 7 form (Annex VI of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2000) (PDF 0.05mb)

To apply for a maintenance decision or to have a decision relating to maintenance changed use the following form and guidance notes:

REMO 8 - Application form (referred to in Annex VII of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009) (PDF 0.13mb)
REMO 8 notes - Guidance for completing REMO 8 form (Annex VII of Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009) (PDF 0.05mb)

For members of the public

If you are a member of the public and require more information about Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance abroad, you can find it on Directgov.

With effect from 18 June 2011 Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 (also known as the Maintenance Regulation) deals with the reciprocal enforcement of maintenance in cross-border situations between Member States of the European Union. The scope of the Maintenance Regulation covers all maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity. The Maintenance Regulation will enable a maintenance creditor to obtain a decision which will be automatically enforceable in another Member State.

Please be aware that pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 4/2009, information may be collected on a debtor and/or creditor named in an application under this Regulation by accessing information from public or administrative authorities that may hold the information required.