What went wrong and how do I change it?

[shadowofluxor]

What is the name of your state? MD but the case took place in NJ

After a long fight to regain custody of my step-daughter, my husband and I decided it was best for her if her grandmother adopted her. She really didn't know us anymore and the grandmother must have been saying things about us to her because she was terriffied to even get in our car for visitation. We decided to just let her go instead of tormenting her the way we were by forcing her to come with us. ANYWAY, she was adoped in August of this year however they never stopped the child support. Now they are trying to issue a warrant for my husband for non-payment. I thought it was supposed to stop when she got adopted. The grandmother, who has done nothing but lie throughout the last 3 1/2 yrs., told us that she was even going to stop the arrearages. Now they say he owes $1,700 in back support. How do I get this stopped? Apparently the grandmother's lawyer didn't contact the child support agency to notify them of the adoption. They are saying we need to provide that information but the courts won't give it to us because of privacy. We have tried to contact the lawyer that handled the case and he "conviently" doesn't call back. Please help me! We have a 2 yr old little girl here that needs her daddy. I can't have him going to jail because he didn't pay for a child that is no longer his in the first place.

[Zigner]

Your husband owes back child support. Apparently, grandma's "promise" to forgive back child support was an empty one.
The way to stop it is to pay the back child support.

[shadowofluxor]

But it's not just the back support. They are still charging the amount of the support every week. When he called they said that they were never notified of an adoption and until then he has to continue to pay. Everyone has tried to contact the lawyer but he won't return any phone calls. He has the termination paperwork but they never sent him the adoption paperwork. We haven't been able to get ahold of the lawyer since then. When he offered the termination paperwork the CS agency said that even if his rights were terminated he still owed child support so that wasn't enough to stop it.

[Gracie3787]

Originally Posted by shadowofluxor

But it's not just the back support. They are still charging the amount of the support every week. When he called they said that they were never notified of an adoption and until then he has to continue to pay. Everyone has tried to contact the lawyer but he won't return any phone calls. He has the termination paperwork but they never sent him the adoption paperwork. We haven't been able to get ahold of the lawyer since then. When he offered the termination paperwork the CS agency said that even if his rights were terminated he still owed child support so that wasn't enough to stop it.

In most states when CS stops for any reason and arrears are owed, the same amount is garnished, but it all gets credited to the arrears. That's most likely what is happening. On Monday your husband should call the CSE to make sure that all monies garnished are being credited to arrears only.

[shadowofluxor]

We did ask and they said it's not just the arrearages. He's still being charged child support. We got a letter about a month ago when we started trying to figure out what was happening and he owed $1,600. I went online today and checked the balance and he owes nearly $1,800.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by shadowofluxor

We did ask and they said it's not just the arrearages. He's still being charged child support. We got a letter about a month ago when we started trying to figure out what was happening and he owed $1,600. I went online today and checked the balance and he owes nearly $1,800.

Then your husband need an attorney. Eiither the adoption didn't happen or something is fouled up in the paperwork pipeline.