I am 21, (my brother is 18) and now that I am older I've come to see that what my father was paying my mother as 'child support' was not nearly close enough to what it should have been, legally. My mother ran out of money for the lawyers so she was forced to settle for $363. My father owns 2 homes on Long Island, NY. He owns a Yacht and for the past few months he has been in Australia...."working". How can I appeal the courts decision, so i can gain all the past child support he should have given my mother to take care of me and my brother. Trust me, im not spoiled, just angry that my mother has no teeth in her mouth b/c she cant afford them and my father went fishing on his boat in Austraila for Labor Day while my mother and I went to Blockbuster (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was awesome btw). How do you get justice if you can't afford an attorney? P.s. Appellet court does not offer free attorneys...Can anyone help me?
2006-09-05 08:03:57 · 11 answers · asked by charlie21205 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I don't have any good answers for you, but I'm sending you and your mom a virtual hug and my prayers and encouragement. I'm a divorced mom with an unusual residential/visitation set-up because of all the lies my ex told in court, and true bad stuff about him that he covered up. One kid lives with me, the others with him. I don't at all mind the concept of child support, but what I have to pay is a huge chunk of my budget, and I am guessing he doesn't really need that much because his house is paid off but I still have rent every month, and he makes nearly twice what I do, and I am still very involved in the kids' lives so he never needed to get a sitter, housekeeper, etc.
Just want you and your mom and brother to know I believe in you and I care.
2006-09-05 08:11:36 · answer #1 · answered by catintrepid 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You most likely have no grounds to go back to court, your mother could have petitioned the court on her own at any time to get the child support raised if she had grounds to do so. You don't need a lawyer to get child support raised. Child support is just that, not one penny of that money ever belonged to your mother, it is 100% for your brother and you, and your support. You definatley will not succeed with anything with the angry attitude you currently have, not to say you don't have the right to be angry, but that is not how you succeed in front of a judge. If you believe ther is something you can do find a lawyer that will give you a free consultation, most family law attorneys will do this. Your best bet is to go to your dad and ask him for money and explain your reasoning in a rational way, if he is unreasonable then you are most likely out of luck, but you can always try the attorney thing.
2006-09-05 08:16:20 · answer #2 · answered by Wilkow Conservative 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, there is such a thing as child support enforcement in every state. If your Mom has never contacted Child Support Enforcement, it was either because one, she didn't know about them, or two, she just didn't want to fight anymore.
Child Support Enforcement will enforce the court order only if he fell behind in payments. Being you both are over the legal age (unless the two of you are going to college), your Mom can't pursue a modification of child support.
Your best bet is to contact the Child Support Enforcement agency of your state and see if your Dad has past due child support. Also they should be able to farther assist you in the task of collecting the correct amount of child support.
I fear you might be heading down a dead end, but I do wish you the best of luck. If you and your brother was younger, your Mom may have a chance.
I would give your Mom a great big hug and tell her that you appreciate the sacrifices she made to care for you and your brother. I'm sure it will touch her heart.
2006-09-05 20:44:29 · answer #3 · answered by Lonewolf 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Look up State Laws I find out everything I just type the state and state laws in the search. There is a statute of limitation also.
Many states offer free legal services and there are also "pro bono" (that is spelled incorrectly) attorny's.
2006-09-05 08:10:46 · answer #4 · answered by sweet pea 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have no standing to challenge the Court's prior rulings on child support. Grow up and live your own life now.
2006-09-05 08:05:42 · answer #5 · answered by MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
millions of women and children have been the victims of absent, lying, deceiving, low down fathers,,,, the country doesn't have enough attorneys to go around,,,, and you can bet their the ones screaming the loudest about abortion laws,, blame the mother,,,, mothers have to have sole responsibility and make all the decisions involving life and death,, in many cases,,, fiscal conservatives and the Republican party want to put women in prison for making the painful decision to abort a pregnancy,, but how many of the men involved want responsibility for all their sperm,,,,,,
2006-09-05 08:12:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The only thing you can do is write your father off for dead. Based on what you said he is unlikely to leave you any of his money anyway. A nasty piece of work.
But, as another has said or implied, moral rights do not give you standing to do anything. Much of life is good, or bad, luck.
2006-09-05 08:08:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I am sorry for your situation, but I don't think that there is anything you can do.
Go to college get a good job and buy mom some really expensive falses!
Good Luck.
2006-09-05 08:06:04 · answer #8 · answered by paganmom 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You are not a child any longer, you are an adult. There is no woulda shoulda in these cases. sorry, you will just need to move on with your life.
2006-09-05 08:06:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think you would be better off to let it go.
Because there is little you can do now.
In any case it would have to be your mom, not you.
That is what i think.
2006-09-05 08:10:00 · answer #10 · answered by Sufi 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋