child support and 15 year olds rights

I am thinking of going after my ex for child support again I have a court order since 1988 for default of defendent and child and medical support which he was summoned to and never showed. He was to receive supervised visitations and never acted on none he has told me now that I made a agreement that he wouldn't see him if he didn't have to pay. My son had never had any contact with him during these years he has had a good childlife and has been fortunate to have a real man take and treat him as his own and has been there for him emotionally through his childlife and financially. I had another conversation with this deadbeat lowlife he tells me now if I take him for child support he will seek partial custody or visitation rights can he do this? My son wants nothing of him except the financial support so he can help out with some of his needs and college. P.S this ex is a very self-centered man and would do this only as revenge. He and his new woman are both ex-cons and she has no custody of her children either.

[usmcfamily]

Hi!
i think that first of all, both you AND the ex need to understand one thing.....support and visitation are two COMPLETELY separate issues in the eyes of the court. Regardless of whether he has exercised his vistation rights in the past - as long as you have a signed court order for support - he is still and always has been (for the duration of the order) responsible for the support payments. Even if you two had made a verbal agreement it would not matter unless it had been finalized by a court of law - no verbal agreements can supercede a court order. He is in fact in arears to you now - I suggest that you collect the support by taking the order to your local support enforcement agency and they can proceed from there with garnishments as necessary. As to the visitation issue - that is something that ALL parties involved (your son is 15 and old enough to be a part of this) need to take care of. What is in the original decree??? That is what he can legally use for the time being - he is supposed to have that time with his son. If your son truly does not want to see him then I would suggest court to change the visitation arrangments....
Your ex's threat to take you to court on this issue is bluff at best - he can take you to court, however if he really expects a family court judge to take his petition for custody seriously when he has had no financial OR emotional support contributions to your son he doesn't have much in the common sense dept. I know from being there myself that "ex's" will threaten a lot of things in the hopes of scaring you away from collecting the support. If all is true in what you have said about the situation you really don't have much to worry about....good luck and God Bless