question about child support back payment and bank seized please read we need help today!!!?

Question

My husband was married and had a son- he is now 13 and they are divorced. He continued to pay her with money orders but she wasn't reporting the payment because she was also receiving the state assistance money- if she reported his payments she would've been unable to receive both.
I believe him because he still has the money order receipts-he tried to fight it but b/c he didn't write child support in the for column she said they were just gifts and the court chose her side.
Anyway it's been years and she has grown up. We have paid the child support payments monthly but haven't quite caught up with the back support yet. It was supposed to be spread until the child turned 18 and we pay a little more each month.
My problem is that yesterday the child support division seized our bank acct. It had all our bill money in it and pretty much nothing more. They said it will be seized until it's paid in full.
There is more but I ran out of room- read the detail portion, please...

We called his ex-wife- she is going to just waive the back support today- since it's her money anyway. That means that they have to un-seize our bank account right? Has anyone been through this to know the process? We need our money-like yesterday-we have checks for bills we wrote etc.
She is going to fill out a form tonight and notarize it- please any help would be wonderful-thank you everyone for all advise.

The state assistance that she got while he was paying with money orders has already been paid back to the courts. The back support owed is only now owed to her- all government assistance money has been paid back.

we are in the state of Arizona- the child support case is in Cochise County

Answer 1

Ok, you will have to take them to court..(Child Support) My uncle just went through the same thing, he had over 800.00 in his account and in one day it all dissapeared he went to the bank and they said "child support put a hold on your account" so what he did was contact legal aid (free consultation) regarding this incident and they advised him of his rights, because by law they can "garnish" your wages, not freeze or hold your assets though. Regardless the situation there are steps to follow like everything else in life, such as, did they suspend your husbands license before doing this? Did they contact you forewarning you that they will be doing this? And this one they never do, but, did they try making contact. By any law in the united states these few simple things have to be done BEFORE seizing any assets, such as property or anything of cash value. What is recommended though since this has already happened, use a credit union account from now on, credit unions are much stiffer then our day to day banks. As unique as that sounds its really true, we moved my uncles direct deposit checks to an credit union account, the child support tried puting a hold on it, and we were contacted by them directly as to what was happening and we were able to put a stop to it quickly. Often enough, major banks just don't have the time to make you their number one priority, while credit unions are normally fairly smaller that they are able to meet you and get to know you on a more personal level, and besides their interest rates on home loans etc. are always better!! LOL.... anyhoo, first things first, I would contact legal aid, because my uncles court hearing was last thursday and he won, not only did they have to pay that 800.00 sum dollars they had to put back double what they took because of the inconvenience. So its well worth it, also, he didn't have an attorney he stood before the courts by himself. So good luck... And I hope it all works out for you guys.

Answer 2

First of all my sympathy to you! I havent had experiance with a bank account being seized but have lived with child support issues for 24 years! Every state is different and you didnt mention which state you lived in or the state she lives in! The best thing you did was to keep receipts! But you do need an attorney! My husband kept sending money orders for years and saved most of the receipts. He never wrote child support on them and in our case it didnt matter cause when it came down to it- fortunatly we were credited with the total amount he had sent her. That amount was deducted from the suppossed arrears he suppossedly owed! However- you should always save receipts and write on the money order what is was for in the memo area! My husbands x wife was on welfare too. She was cheating the govornment and us is essance because she was getting money from both! Sometimes, she even had my husband write money orders out to her mother so she wouldnt get caught! This I found out after we were married. The other thing in your post that concerns me is that I do not beleive that the x wife has the authority to just decide she doesnt want the back child support payments! If she was on assistance, they want their money back and will get it until its paid back regardless of what the x says or signs! If the child support was court ordered, and he can show the remonthly receipts were made because of the order, seems to me that you just got a really bad judge. Whatever you do keep fighting. The biggest issue in our marraige has been the child support issues, the unfair treatment we received thru the legal system and her lies to keep getting support even after the kids were over 18 and had graduated! We also learned the hard way that you should always use a professional child support collection agency to make your payments to. Sometimes that isnt a choice! Sometimes the court or state orders where your payments are to be sent- I think its a child support clearing house! Two different occassions we received letters and checks for reimbursement from the state of Colorado, where she lives saying that we overpaid the total child support for their life, and still she was able to come back to AZ and start collecting again this last time. His youngest child is almost 25 yrs old. KEEP FIGHTING and get an attorney. Yes it is worth the money you may have to borrow to get resolution. I beleive that parents should pay child support when they have an obligation to the children they bring into this world! But I also firmly beleive that they shouldnt be screwed in the process! My son is 24 and we have court ordered support and we have NEVER received a dime since he was born! Good Luck

Answer 3

if you were making the timely payments as agreed up at the last court hearing to make up the arrears....then they had no business seizing your account. i'd say get a lawyer but from the looks of it...you don't have any money to hire a lawyer anyway.
first off.....get your husband's name off all your accounts. open a new account with only your name. they can't seize the spouse's account.
second...go down to the child support court and file a Motion to Set Aside. I think you can file Ex-parte which means you can get a hearing the next business day. with the motion, make sure you have copies of all the receipts since the last hearing at least. attach it. serve the Child Support Office and the other parent. you can inform the parent by phone and the Child Support Office by fax.
you won't get that money back, i'm sorry to say. Child Support doesn't work that way. they will freeze the funds once the motion is filed, but will only release that money to the other parent in increments unless ordered by the judge to do so. if you owe....you'll never see it again.
but you can get them to stop seizing the accounts next month. agree to make the payments in a timely manner. if you have an agreement with the other parent...maybe she can give you that money back when she gets it.
usually child support will go after a paycheck before they after a bank account, so that does sound odd. then they go after your driver's license. then your credit. but to jump right to your bank account is really serious.

Answer 4

You need to talk to a lawyer. Most will do a free consultation. My husband is in a very similar situation. We solve it by not having anything in his name. Our bank account is in my name only. His father set up his inheritance to go directly to our children, with me as the power of attorney or trustee or whatever you call it. All our property and vehicles etc are in only my name.
They also confiscate his federal and state income tax return, so we file an Injured Spouse Form, and that ensures that I get back the amount that is due to me.

I really don't see how they can just seize a bank account when you are currently making regular payments. You definitely need a lawyer.
Good luck!

Answer 5

well pretty much they did have the right to consider it as a present cuz it says cleary on child support nething given to the other parent that does not go thru them is a gift it has to go directly thru attorney general for it to b considered child support or u would have to have proof that it was a payment on child support now the other part i had no idea they could even do that my lil girls father had to pay me back child support the same way in payments to where he could afford it u might want to get a lawyer to help ya on that one and make sure she signs the papers she is supposed to before she screws ya over

Answer 6

THEY WONT. I pay CS and take my advice on the following. 1. Don't tell them ANYTHING! The courts know absolutley nothing about you besides your Driver License number and ss number, UNLESS "YOU" TELL THEM. 2. The courts cannot seize anything in regards to bank accounts they know nothing about. Remember, banks are run by companies, not the government, and are a protected by the privacy act. 3. Don't pay with checks that have your account number on them where all your money is stored, just in case. 4. Open a bank account with little money in it on the side. Remember, during a court hearing, you have the right to plead the 5th ammendment (self incrimination) meaning you don't have to answer any questions, therefore, the less they know the better.

Answer 7

Bad record keeping and using money orders for support payments was foolish. You will have to wait until the court makes a ruling.

Answer 8

No, it does NOT mean they have to return the money seized.

Any such petition to forgive arrears moves in only one direction, forward. Therefore, even if the petition is granted (which it most likely will not be) any future actions will be ceased. Not those in the past.

Answer 9

if your paying on back child support and current child support they shouldnt have been able to touch your bank account. id get a lawyer ASAP!! child support people have been known to really screw up figures and usually get there way in court.

Answer 10

You had better call a good lawyer. Always keep proper records of these things...