Child Support Enforcement??

Question

My friend is a single mother of a child who has a deadbeat dad. He has gone YEARS without paying a dime of support, and when she finally took it before a judge the judge took away the guy's drivers license until he paid all his back support, He never paid an single dime to her, and Child Support Enforcement gave him his license back stating that he couldn't look for a job if he didn't have a way to get to interviews. He still hasn't paid anything. She has been making several phone calls and writing letters about it, and nobody will do anything for her. Is it just me, or does Child Support Enforcement in some areas seem to work for the Dad and not for the child?

She has a lawyer, but in the state of South Dakota, there isn't much they can do because of faulty Child Support laws.

Answer 1

It depends on the state where your friend lives. Some states will automatically take the money from the deadbeat before he gets his check. Other states only allow one to post on the internet that they are a deadbeat dad.

It also does not help if the dad has no job.

Answer 2

Unfortunately - our courts are just not perfect. Your friend should continue to write letters - phone calls - and make court dates. At some point she'll crack the system. Of course - if he's not working - or if he's making money under the table - there is no way he'll have to pay. But if he ever gets a legitimate job - she will be able to get money from him. Even if it is AFTER the child is grown. What this means is that as long as she stays after him and the courts - he will never be able to have a legitimate job unless he is willing to pay her what she owes. Not a pretty picture for him. She should just keep trying.

Now - just for the record - there are also HORRIBLE mothers out there who take the children away from the Father's - and don't let the Father's see them. And then - they surface - and call the Dad and make him pay all the back child support for the years he was not able to see his kids - AND - the mothers live off of welfare and spend their money on tattoos and psychics and whatever (yes I am speaking of a real woman)

So - it goes both ways. And the moral of the story is...

Don't make a baby with somebody unless you are absolutely sure they are going to be a fabulous life partner and parent!!

Answer 3

I just went through this same situation here in NH. He owes in excess of 25,000 and after 9 years of paying only when he was put in jail for non-payment, the dept of health and human services who are responsible for the collection (court ordered) finally pushed it through to the county atty and he was charged with a class b felony of criminal non-support. he spent the last 4 mths in county jail and just had his hearing this week. He was ordered to get a 40 hr a week job NO SELF EMPLOYMENT and has to report to a probation officer for monitoring his status. he plead guilty to these charges and plea bargained to the above and more. Otherwise he is going to prison for 2-4 years if he messes up 1 time.( he has no license either) I guess the point is you have to remain persistent and keep calling and calling until you get results. Like I said this has gone on for 9 years and finally there is a law NH pertaining to dead beat parents. Believe me in all this time i have never gotten any type of financial assistance because my husband and i make too much money nor did I want it but His paying child support over the years would have made the kids life easier and would have payed for more for their benefit. Tell your friend to do the best she can for now and stay persistent eventually what goes around comes around. PS I never used an atty. It is up to the advocates of the court to make sure court orders are enforced- in my case div of H&H services.

Answer 4

If there is a child support enforcement that treats the NCP like a human being, that's news to me. Most of the time, they treat the NCP like trash (Adams county in Colorado in my case, bunch of government fa's who treated you like slime for interrupting their government lunch).
Requiring all the back child support to be paid is a bit extreme, but so is the case your describing. The standard I've seen is three months of _current_ child support payments, but the other is not that extreme if he makes a bona fide effort to actually find a job.
What I would be doing is calling both the CSE and the judge (remember, either party can go directly to the judge with a complaint). The judge does have the authority to call him in for a contempt proceeding if he feels that he's slacking.

Answer 5

You will need to check with your state child support enforcement division or see a lawyer. My ex wife refused to pay any of her court ordered child support. So I turned her into enforcement division here in my state and now I get my $67 a month for my two sons. Its not much but it does take care of milk for a week.

Answer 6

I think that she needs to get a good attorney. If she got divoced she could also file alimony too. Here are some links, so you can read up on it. A good attorney could get the child support by garnishing his checks, so it automatically comes out of his check when he does decide to get off his lazy as and get a job. Yes we do need better child support enforcement laws, but unfortunately, you have to get a good lawyer. I hope these two links help you. I think you see get a good attorneys and nail the son of a b*ch to the wall. If you need anymore help, feel free to contact me at [e-mail] and I will see how I can help.

Answer 7

i wouldn't stop support just because of a threat. he doesn't pay support so what makes him think he can pay for an attorney. he is just trying to to get control with threats. if you have total custody and he only has visitation you have nothing to worry about. the courts very seldom overturn a judgment unless you are found unfit. the courts will also take into consideration that he does not follow his visitation orders. as for the child support, even if he doesn't go for joint custody but tries to get the support dropped to 0 just sit back and relax it's not going to happen. even if he quits his job and is bringing in 0 dollars he will still have to pay support. my ex tried that last november and the judge pretty much said get the hell out of his courtroom.

Answer 8

Child support laws suck. You really can't make a person support their children if they don't want to. My ex doesn't pay a penny. He quits his jobs and moves all the time. Ironically when we were married we had custody of his children from his first marriage. His ex wife was in arrears 30,000 dollars. So he knows from her he doesn't really have to support his sons. I do not think putting a dead beat parent in jail is the answer. I am not sure there is way to force someone to support their children. Morally they are not right.

Answer 9

In my experiences, I have always believed that they have a bunch of femi-nazis working there, but that is definitely not what you have experienced.

To get a job is one thing, but to get your license back and not look for a job is quite another. I am positive that they gave him a time frame in which to do this.

Please encourage her to go through the legal system by getting some legal assisstance through your home state (lawyers who are free/cheap to people in her position). Most states offer this program.

Answer 10

its common, sad but true. the honor system doesnt work.

If your local child support agency isnt helping or enforcing the DEATBEAT, contact your federal regional office (link is here too). Find it, and write them (calls don’t help).

Post the DEADBEAT PARENT who owes you childsupport (and yeah, he owes it to you, or it would be called “child trust fund” [which is different]). Here are some other links that may help.

http://www.wantedposters.com/deadbeats_usa_a_to_f.htm
http://www.deadbeatjustice.com/list.htm (new up and coming site to post on too)
http://www.divorcelawinfo.com/
http://www.divorcehq.com/deadbeat.html
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/
http://www.supportkids.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/nj4/njcomputerchick