Suspension of credentials and driving license

[Birdi]

What is your state? California
My man, who is $24,000 in arrears with child support, has just been notified of the pending suspension of his teaching credential and driver's license. We have sent $4,000 in the past four months to the county. We have sent a letter requesting a payment schedule, so that we could begin to clear the matter with DMV and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. We have not heard back from the County (of Santa Clara).

Are they going to be willing to let us make payments, or are they coming after the entire amount? The children are grown, presumably emancipated.

Half of the amount owed is interest. Is there any possibility to reduce the interest portion of the debt?

How should we handle this to prevent the suspension of his licenses?

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

How should we handle this to prevent the suspension of his licenses?

Guess he should have thought about that when he wasn't supporting his children. Good for CA!

 

[seniorjudge]

What is your state? California
My man, who is $24,000 in arrears with child support, has just been notified of the pending suspension of his teaching credential and driver's license. We have sent $4,000 in the past four months to the county. We have sent a letter requesting a payment schedule, so that we could begin to clear the matter with DMV and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. We have not heard back from the County (of Santa Clara).

Are they going to be willing to let us make payments, or are they coming after the entire amount? The children are grown, presumably emancipated.

Half of the amount owed is interest. Is there any possibility to reduce the interest portion of the debt?

How should we handle this to prevent the suspension of his licenses?

The only way you can stop this suspension is for him to pay his child support. The payment schedule was set in the judgment of the original lawsuit (or any subsequent modification). They want the entire amount.

However, if you come up with a big chunk (not a payment plan) they may continue the suspension hearings for a couple of months to see if you can come up with more.

He had been warned about this before and did not heed the warning.

 

[help in florida]

PARADISE: People come here for advice. Not personal comments like good for CA. This shows your lack of understanding on what the forum is about.

SENIOR JUDGE: Is correct, this is probably what they will do. You would have been served of a notice of intent in your present home state and could have appealed the decion to domesticate the order.

Taking driving licences and professional credentials really serves no purpose. How is this going to help collect when you remove the ability to work. But thats our government, not exactly the most intelligent, politically correct but still our government.

Going to jail also serves no purpose just another form of extortion however with a license from the government.

I would suggest you go hire a lawyer in the state that the original order was issued and apply for a modifiction of the order. The grounds you and your attorney will have to decide. This will probably take months to prepare so get ready to fight in your present home state.

Good Luck

 

[stealth2]

Well, what did he expect was going to happen when he decided not to pay his support?

He can certainly speak with an attorney about trying to get a payment plan set up, but many states will not stop the suspension process until the balance is below some threshhold.

 

[help in florida]

STEALTH2: Well you are right, he should have made payments when he had the chance to. He also should have if he had grounds appealed the judgement.

However in order to deal with the suspensions of credentials and licences he best consult an attorney. He is to close to the situation and will probably make emotional decisons rather than logical ones. He is also taking on a state funded collection process which is a bit ugly to say the least.

The best defense is still consult and hire an attorney who is personaly removed from the situation and perhaps also ask that he modify the original order if that has not been done before.

Time is of the essence since they have started collection and the longer he or she takes in consulting an attorney the more brutal and ugly this collection becomes.

If they have an attorney the state will deal with the attorney.

 

[LdiJ]

My advice is that you find some way to take out a loan to pay off the balance. Perhaps a home equity loan? If the children are grown an emancipated then obviously your "man" is older and most likely at a stable point in his career....odds are he should have some means to secure a loan.

 

[stealth2]

perhaps also ask that he modify the original order if that has not been done before.

I'm not sure what you think is modifiable.

 

[DOS2005]

Reply to Birdi

What is your state? California
My man, who is $24,000 in arrears with child support, has just been notified of the pending suspension of his teaching credential and driver's license. We have sent $4,000 in the past four months to the county. We have sent a letter requesting a payment schedule, so that we could begin to clear the matter with DMV and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. We have not heard back from the County (of Santa Clara).

Are they going to be willing to let us make payments, or are they coming after the entire amount? The children are grown, presumably emancipated.

Half of the amount owed is interest. Is there any possibility to reduce the interest portion of the debt?

How should we handle this to prevent the suspension of his licenses?

You guys need to have some legal help obviously. Sounds like the State has your Man by the balls so to speak and aren't communicating with you or with eachother as to a payment schedule or as to what has already been paid. For that amount I would think Payments are the only option, at least for most of us. It would still be like a car payment each month or more to pay it off and it would be years to do so. Why wasn't he paying the support all along? If the children are grown now their mom is still entitled to the support that was ordered for her children and that she had to make up from her own funds most likely. If the amount was outrageous to begin with he could have had it modified and if he wasn't working it could have been modified then also. In any case you guys need a lawyer because it sounds complicated and not something you can do yourselves to stop the suspensions. I think the system sucks honestly and needs to be revamped entirely. Too many parents receiving the support are getting away with interference with visitaions and like that and somehow that doesn't matter. If your s/o wasn't able to see the children in this time he can fight on those grounds also that interference was going on and since he never was allowed to see his children he shouldn't have to pay support for those times they were kept from him. Good luck.

 

[seniorjudge]

I'm not sure what you think is modifiable.

Correct...if the kids are emancipated, the old judgment in the original lawsuit is set in stone.

 

[Silverplum]

[QUOTE If your s/o wasn't able to see the children in this time he can fight on those grounds also that interference was going on and since he never was allowed to see his children he shouldn't have to pay support for those times they were kept from him. Good luck.[/QUOTE]

You are so, so wrong. Support and visitation are two different things. Why even post if you don't know facts to help the OP?

 

[Birdi]

more from Birdi

Thank you, ‘Help in Florida’, I found 'Paradise’s' answer to be unhelpful and upsetting. Most of the debt had accrued before I ever met the man, and I couldn’t get him to deal with it. He had two part time jobs, and his wages were garnished to cover the mandated child support plus more against the arrearage ($600 per month). This was the situation for years. Some months he was not given enough hours of work, and they garnished only part of the amount. Unfortunately, the interest was building faster than the debt was serviced.

Eventually he quit the job with the garnished wages when he was hired to a good paying teaching job. So, about a year ago, it all went wrong. He didn’t know where to send support checks, so he didn’t bother to do so. What we thought were invoices began arriving in September. We didn't understand they were asking for the full amount. We began sending what we could, thinking the $600 per month figure was still what we were required to pay.

He now has the means to pay off the debt in 2 or 3 years. But if the teaching credential is revoked, that won’t be possible. We know he made a mistake by dropping out of contact with Child Services, but we want to get the payment process underway. We might be able to scrape together about half of the 24k, but how are we going to pay off the rest of it without the teaching credential? It took years to find this job, so what sense does it make to take it from him?

Yes, the ex did set up huge obstacles to him seeing the children, so he eventually gave up trying to visit. But that is not really the issue, and is not going to change the judgement now. That’s NOT something we are going to fight about now.

Our main concern is how to save the teaching credential. We are also worried about the possibility of being jailed. How do we convince them we are serious about paying off the debt?

 

[stealth2]

"We" cannot do anything. HE should speak with an attorney ASAP to see if there is any way out of this trainwreck.

 

[help in florida]

Nothing is cast in stone, if it were there would be no lawyers to contest the stone.

If you request modification there are many points your attorney can use.

You may have points on visitation.
Interest may be reversable, and I could think of a nother half dozen including hardship claims including your present children that you also support if you have any.

It is imperative that you contact an attorney preferably someone with experience with family law and a litigation background. Interview your lawyer he will be happy to oblige and present his credentials.

He may also be able to preevent the suspension. You don't have the background and the resources to do this on your own.

 

[stealth2]

Of course, "help in florida", you realize that the sort of legal action you're talking about (modifying an order that already has significant arrearages attached to it) is going to cost a crap load of money, right? An attorney is not going to tackle this pro bono.

Hardship claims for other children? Not likely - he knew he had an obligation that he did not meet before having more kids. Interest is also not likely reversible. $24k does not accrue overnight - it takes a consistent refusal to pay to get to that amount.

The best he can hope for is to get a payment plan that puts the suspensions on hold. And yes, he should consult an attorney for that - the fee is going to be significantly less than for a mod like you're talking about. And if he had THAT sort of money, he can afford to pay off his arrearage.