Contributory parent visaAoS Sender: tony.kidd

Hi Nico Don't sweat too much. remember that the AOS is a problem for a lot of people so you are not alone. I'm not sure if that makes you feel better or not!

The length of the AOS is at the discretion of the Secretary of the Social Security dept. There is provision for the Secretary to release a person from the obligation but this is used sparingly. Generally speaking, once you have signed the butturance your stuck with it. Therefore you need to be clear with your in-laws about that. They need to know what they're getting into. The obligation is serious but usually low risk. The risk is that you will claim one of the benefits prescribed. Of course you will only do that if you run out of money.

There are some people who are prepared to be an butturer for money. In this sense they act a bit like an insurance company. There is no legal problem with this-it is a purely commercial transaction. The government doesn't care as long as they can get their money from someone. This is all about the government pushing risk onto someone else.

The commercial butturer usually charge a lot tho. They often require a bond to be paid as well-separate to the bond paid to the government. That's the down side. The upside of these arrangements is that there is no relationship to damage. They have taken the risk as a commercial arrangement and can't complain if they have to cough up.

I'm telling you this because it might help you think about the butturance in commercial rather than social terms. I think that's the best way to think about it. If a family member does it for you they are doing you a big favour. A friend or other person is doing an even bigger favour.

To answer your question re taking over butturance more directly-yes this is technically possible but I don't know if it has ever been done. It would be at the discretion of the secretary. For potential butturers you have to tell them that once they sign the can't get out of it.

Of course an butturer is taking a bigger risk butturing a poor person than a rich one. A rich person will not be enbreastled to social security benefits anyway-therefore they are less likely to claim. You could also have an arrangement where you agree to pay the butturer for any costs they incur-this would suit a situation where you had temporary financial troubles.

I'm waffliing a bit but I'll leave you with what I think is the most important part of getting an butturance of support. The butturer needs to be absolutely clear about what they are getting themselves into-this is especially important for family members. Otherwise it can cause grief later on. Therefore, have a chat with your in-laws, make sure their comfortable and agree to buy them a few beers for looking after you. If they are not comfortable you might need to find someone else.

tony

--