In a precedent-setting ruling, the Jerusalem Family Court determined that grandparents are obligated to pay child support payments to their grandchildren in lieu of their son, a recalcitrant husband, whom they are supporting. The lawsuit was filed by advocate and religious pleader Gitit Nachliel of Mavoi Satum, The Organization for Women Denied Divorce. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a young mother of two whose husband abandoned her during her second pregnancy and fled Israel, leaving her to fend for the children entirely on her own, and making her an "agunah", or chained woman.

Precedent: The Father Disappeared; The Grandparents will Pay Child Support
By Shmuel Mittelman, NRG 25/10/2009, 4:18 PM
Translated by Elana Sztokman
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/958/110.html

The woman filed for divorce in the Rabbinical Court, but the husband's family refused to disclose his whereabouts and to assist the court in its efforts to find him, thus rendering his wife an agunah. According to the claim, the husband's family even periodically sends people to mock her and pressure her give into the husband's demands in exchange for a divorce.

The woman also sued the husband for child support in the Family Court. Since the court was unable to locate the husband, the woman decided to revoke the lawsuit and instead open a new lawsuit against the parents of the husband, her children's grandparents.

"An important message for absent fathers"
In the lawsuit, the woman reasoned that since she is unable to claim child support from the children's father, his parents should be held accountable. Judge Phillip Marcus of the Jerusalem Family Court accepted the claim and ruled that the grandparents hid assets from the court and misrepresented facts about their financial situation. The court determined that the grandparents are able to provide for themselves as well as assist in supporting their grandchildren. The court also ordered the grandparents to pay the woman's court fees in the amount of 7500 NIS.

In response to this decision, Adv. Nachliel said, "I am pleased that the court did not leave this agunah without recourse, at least when it comes to her children's welfare, and held the husband's parents accountable for their son's actions. This is a very important message for absent fathers, men who leave their wives without a divorce and without child support – a message that they cannot run from their responsibilities, and that their parents may be obligated in their stead."

Mavoi Satum Executive Director Batya Kahana-Dror added, "In contrast to the Rabbinical Courts, the family court took responsibility to try and resolve the intolerable and inhumane situation of women denied divorce and denied sustenance for her children. The Family Court is taking steps to help eradicate recalcitrance and is making a strong statement that the situation is supported by the family and by society, and we can therefore fight it. I hope that the Rabbinical Court will see this as a precedent for itself as well."