Adoption/Arreages/Florida

[Nobody77]

What is the name of your state? Florida

I will be terminating my parental rights and consenting to a step-parent adoption of my two daughters. I have a court order to pay child support through CSE to the mother for $700 a month, $670 is for support and $30 is for arrearages. I owe $15k in arrearages and I have been unable to pay CS for the past 4 months in child-support.
I am aware that future CS gets terminated after adoption is final, but I was told by LegalAid that she would have to waive the arrearges as long as none were owed to the state. I had another lawyer that I consulted with who said that food stamp assistance would not be owed from the CS to the state, but if she recieved any money that it could be. She has recieved food-stamps before but no other assistance from the government, and gets all the $700 that I have sent to CSE, so I am assuming she has the power to waive such arrearages or reduce the amount.

The mother has agreed to waive the arrearages in which she recieves, but I am not sure if this will cover the past 4 months I am behind in current CS until the final order takes place on the adoption. I also cannot seem to find anything in the lawbooks or online that shows how to waive these arrearages.

Is there a form that I need for this or is it something we have to draw up ourselves?
Where and when is the waiver introduced in the courts? in the adoption proceedings?
Can DeptOfRevenue step in and ask the judge NOT to waive such arrearages even if the mother wants to? <They were the ones who started after me for child support and continue to show up at motions I have filed, not pertaining to this>
If the arrearges cannot be waived by her, can she at least have them reduced before/after the adoption takes place?

Any advice would be appreaciated. Thank you!

[Gracie3787]

Originally Posted by Nobody77

What is the name of your state? Florida

I will be terminating my parental rights and consenting to a step-parent adoption of my two daughters. I have a court order to pay child support through CSE to the mother for $700 a month, $670 is for support and $30 is for arrearages. I owe $15k in arrearages and I have been unable to pay CS for the past 4 months in child-support.
I am aware that future CS gets terminated after adoption is final, but I was told by LegalAid that she would have to waive the arrearges as long as none were owed to the state. I had another lawyer that I consulted with who said that food stamp assistance would not be owed from the CS to the state, but if she recieved any money that it could be. She has recieved food-stamps before but no other assistance from the government, and gets all the $700 that I have sent to CSE, so I am assuming she has the power to waive such arrearages or reduce the amount.

The mother has agreed to waive the arrearages in which she recieves, but I am not sure if this will cover the past 4 months I am behind in current CS until the final order takes place on the adoption. I also cannot seem to find anything in the lawbooks or online that shows how to waive these arrearages.

Is there a form that I need for this or is it something we have to draw up ourselves?
Where and when is the waiver introduced in the courts? in the adoption proceedings?
Can DeptOfRevenue step in and ask the judge NOT to waive such arrearages even if the mother wants to? <They were the ones who started after me for child support and continue to show up at motions I have filed, not pertaining to this>
If the arrearges cannot be waived by her, can she at least have them reduced before/after the adoption takes place?

Any advice would be appreaciated. Thank you!

The lawyers you spoke with are correct. The only way to have the arrears offically waived is for your ex to notify the court that she wants to forgive all arrears owed. If this is not done, AND signed off on by the Judge, the arrears can still be enforced. Food stamps are not reimburseable to the state, so unless ex recieved any cash assitance the arrears are owed to only her.

You or your ex can draw up a simple motion to forgive arrears and file it with the court. That can be ruled on at the same time as the TPR along with stopping the future CS.

Yes, it should cover the last 4 months, as long as the amount of arrears waived includes that amount.