Can a judge erase arrears

[dishealth11]

What is the name of your state? NY
Can a judge clear or reduce the amount of arrears that are already established and in place?

 

[BL]

Generally speaking , arrears can not be " Erased " , or " Reduced " .

However , I brought a case to the courts ( In NY ) , whereas payments held from my tax returns ( for arrears ) by CSEU that remained unpaid , where ordered returned to me forthwith the court order, also terminating my child support obligations , and any arrears issue between the Parties were reserved to us both.

So to answer your question , it depends on the circumstances and facts of the case .

 

[nextwife]

An erroneous arrears can be "corrected". I am aware of someone who had about $30,000 of post age 21 CS that was never owed (the order clearly stated CS stopped at age 21 PERIOD!) backed out of the records. NY just kept adding, and that "arrearage" they created WAS eventually erased.

 

[gatorguy3]

Bradley Amendment

Read up on this amendment. While I agree with both of the previous two posters, the Bradley Amendment was put into play to keep judges from manipulating arrears, or at least that was the explanation given to me.

 

[nextwife]

Yes it was. If the money is owed PER the order in place at the time, it cannot be erased. But, if it was shown as owed by John T Smith, and was really owed by John B Smith, and CSE messed up, it can be erased from John T Smith, for example.

Or if a person claimed an arrearage, but the payor produces evidence that arrears was paid, the "claimed" arraerage can be erased because it had been proved to have been paid..

Or if Mary Smith in R.I. received all her ordered CS through RI CSE, but ALSO filed in a state in which she later lived, resulting in two simultaneous orders for the same children, the fraudulant "arrears" in the second state CAN be erased .

 

[Grace_Adler]

Just to elaborate a bit... but I'm not really sure how to answer in entirely because I don't know what the arrears pertain to. I was just going to say, I'm not sure about NY, sorry, but I know in many states, if the arrears are owed to the plaintiff, they have the power to forgive the arrears, either partially or entirely and the judge can agree to this. However, the judge will not do it if the plaintiff is not in agreement.

If the arrears are owed to the state, I don't know how that works really. I believe it is possible to be released from that, depending on laws, the situation, etc but is not a "norm."

If they are erronous (sp?) well the other posters have elaborated on that.

 

[Gracie3787]

What is the name of your state? NY
Can a judge clear or reduce the amount of arrears that are already established and in place?

To answer the question as written:

IF the arrears have been ESTABLISHED to be a certain amount BY COURT ORDER, then no- a JUDGE cannot be reduce or erase them.

The ONLY time that a JUDGE can reduce arrears at all is during the hearing in which the court ESTABLISHES the amount of arrears.