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lgbnaf87

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia. I was put on child support in 2006 but no later than a couple months i was told by the custodial parent that she no longer wanted me to pay and i received a letter from agency stated that i no longer had to pay. Eight years later she went back to agency to get child support and it appears that i owe 61,000 dollars in support. Apparently she said she did not want me to pay but the state of Ga keeps adding the monthly fees. I was not informed of this by either the custodial parent or the courts. So the first thing they did was suspend my license then froze bank account and probably next will put lien on property. Is there anything that can be done, i don't mind paying child support but who lets someone owe this amount without there even knowing.
 


lgbnaf87

Junior Member
I assume you originally had a court order to pay.

Did you ever go back to court to have that order stopped?
Never had to go to court even though i had a court order, it was done in office. My only wish was to know that was being done. Who lets an amount just go without ever knowing about it.
 

Ladyback1

Senior Member
Never had to go to court even though i had a court order, it was done in office. My only wish was to know that was being done. Who lets an amount just go without ever knowing about it.
from my understanding: A state's child support enforcement office/division can NOT decide you don't have to abide by a court order for child support. Only if a court/judge modifies or nullifies an order does it negate your responsibility to pay the child support.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
To be clear - the letter you received from the state was telling you that they were no longer collecting on behalf of the other parent. They didn't say you didn't have to pay, just that you didn't have to pay through them.
 

latigo

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia. I was put on child support in 2006 but no later than a couple months i was told by the custodial parent that she no longer wanted me to pay and i received a letter from agency stated that i no longer had to pay. Eight years later she went back to agency to get child support and it appears that i owe 61,000 dollars in support. Apparently she said she did not want me to pay but the state of Ga keeps adding the monthly fees. I was not informed of this by either the custodial parent or the courts. So the first thing they did was suspend my license then froze bank account and probably next will put lien on property. Is there anything that can be done, i don't mind paying child support but who lets someone owe this amount without there even knowing.
Because the obligation is owed to the child not the parent I don't believe that a custodial parent can effectively waive child support short of court approval.

And most certainly neither Georgia's Department of Child Support Services nor any other state agency possesses that solemn authority.

You need to spend some money with a lawyer experienced in practicing the art of Georgia family law.
 

torimac

Member
Is it possible that the other parent would agree to forgive the arrears, given that they wanted to cancel support? You would still need to go to court, but if the other parent will agree to forgive the arrears, then it would be a lot easier.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Is it possible that the other parent would agree to forgive the arrears, given that they wanted to cancel support? You would still need to go to court, but if the other parent will agree to forgive the arrears, then it would be a lot easier.
Seems to me that it's the other party that's triggered this in the first place.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
The state stopped collecting 8 years ago...
See, that is what makes no sense to me. Mom didn't want child support. She had the collection stopped. Therefore, obviously she wasn't on any kind of assistance at the time, or she couldn't have stopped the collection.

So, why is the state going after dad now? From what dad said in the first post, it sounds like mom has changed her mind.
 

CJane

Senior Member
Seems to me that it's the other party that's triggered this in the first place.
Perhaps unintentionally, though.

I can see a situation in which the CP hits hard times, asks CSEA to reopen the case (thinking it had been CLOSED and not just UNENFORCED), and opening this can of worms. It wasn't necessarily a malicious act.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
See, that is what makes no sense to me. Mom didn't want child support. She had the collection stopped. Therefore, obviously she wasn't on any kind of assistance at the time, or she couldn't have stopped the collection.

So, why is the state going after dad now? From what dad said in the first post, it sounds like mom has changed her mind.
Right - mom wants the support now.
 

latigo

Senior Member
That's not correct, child support is always owed to the parent, NOT the child. (?)
Is not the central question here whether or not a custodial parent can effectively waive and release the other parent from his or her duty to provide financial support for their child or children?

Assuming so, then it seems to be your argument that the receiving parent can waive that obligation simply because the support is "owed to the parent and NOT THE CHILD" .

There is a slight problem with your position, however. It smacks in the face of numerous decisions by the Georgia Appellate Court, all to the contrary. (Excerpts as follow)

"But, insofar as it (the divorce decree) relates to child support, it is a right which belongs to the child or children involved which may be exercised at the election of the mother or other person having legal custody of the children under the terms of the divorce decree. Since this right belongs to the children and not to the mother, she cannot waive it. Livsey v. Livsey, 229 Ga. 368 (191 SE2d 859) (1972).

And for a refresher course: Collins v. Collins, 172 Ga. App. 748 (1984) "The duty of parents to support their children is joint and several, and does not cease upon separation or divorce of the parents". OCGA § *749 19-7-2; Mell v. Mell, 190 Ga. 508 (9 SE2d 756) (1940).

"One parent cannot contract away the right of a child to be supported by the other parent, and such a provision in a divorce decree waiving a child's right to support is void"[/B]. (Citing: Crumb v. Gordon, 157 Ga. App. 839 (2) (278 SE2d 725) (1981); Williamson v. State, 138 Ga. App. 306 (3) (226 SE2d 102) (1976); see also Livsey v. Livsey, 229 Ga. 368 (191 SE2d 859) (1972).

Perhaps you should hasten to alert that august body that they are badly misinformed.
 

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