Child Support Pro Se?

[RRevak]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Sunny S. FL

Ok, ive officially hit my wits end with the state of FL regarding Child support! I've been fighting with them for almost 2yrs and STILL have absolutely NOTHING to show for it, not even an order! *sigh* deep breath time...

I need all of you fabulous people of FA
My question is would there be any way I could do this without the state and without a private attorney? In other words, do some legwork on my own and go from there. I consulted a private atty this afternoon and he wanted $1,500 up front as his retainer and another $250 per hour for court time and a partridge in a pear tree worth of other fees. I already pay out the yin-yang for my school tuition (trust me people, you do NOT want to know how much i've shelled out so far in tuition fees ) so after everything is said and done the hubs and I just dont have the kind of money we would need to hire someone private. My family wont help out as they're under the thinking that we should just let it go and forget about the whole thing. I have no idea what to do here and i'm tired of getting nowhere with the state but very much want to at least get SOME support from the ex. Has anyone here ever attempted this and can anyone direct me in the right direction if they have?
Thanks everyone!!!!

Oh, and feel free to send me crashing and burning if there is no way shape or form for this to be possible LOL. I would rather get bad news from all of you than from some state organization.

 

[Zephyr]

why do you not have an order? what has been determined when you went to court?

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Florida stinks with or without a court order.

 

[SIN EATER]

What was wrong with your application/information, that you had to fight CSE for 2 yrs, with no resolution ???

 

[RRevak]

The ex continues to dodge the system. He tends to move around when he runs out of (gets fired from...) employment so his address changes about twice a year. The state is horrible at keeping up, even when he files a change in address form. I had a case open but dropped it after nothing came of it when 8 months passed. I started another one last november, or rather picked the old one back up (they still had all the information in their system). I contacted them recently (about 3 months ago) to find out when the deal was and they said they had no current address for him. I gave them his current at the time which he still resides now. I called again 2 weeks ago and despite the fact that I GAVE THEM HIS ADDRESS! they were STILL stating they had no current address on file! I reminded them that I gave them the current and asked what happened to the information and they couldnt tell me.

Call them them a few days later and magically the information was there. They said that the address had been verified (took 3 months???) and that he would be served. Called yesterday and they said he still hadnt been served with court papers (almost 2 weeks after) and that they had no idea why as they knew where he was. They then told me that they were unable to do anything until 30 business days had passed and that I was to just continue to wait.

Well i'm done waiting. Its extremely clear that they arent able to get their acts together enough to get something as simple as an address update and to expect anything more is looking like this is just going to be another run around. So if people can go through a divorce pro se, can they start a child support case?

 

[hearts41]

going at it alone

The ex continues to dodge the system. He tends to move around when he runs out of (gets fired from...) employment so his address changes about twice a year. The state is horrible at keeping up, even when he files a change in address form. I had a case open but dropped it after nothing came of it when 8 months passed. I started another one last november, or rather picked the old one back up (they still had all the information in their system). I contacted them recently (about 3 months ago) to find out when the deal was and they said they had no current address for him. I gave them his current at the time which he still resides now. I called again 2 weeks ago and despite the fact that I GAVE THEM HIS ADDRESS! they were STILL stating they had no current address on file! I reminded them that I gave them the current and asked what happened to the information and they couldnt tell me.

Call them them a few days later and magically the information was there. They said that the address had been verified (took 3 months???) and that he would be served. Called yesterday and they said he still hadnt been served with court papers (almost 2 weeks after) and that they had no idea why as they knew where he was. They then told me that they were unable to do anything until 30 business days had passed and that I was to just continue to wait.

Well i'm done waiting. Its extremely clear that they arent able to get their acts together enough to get something as simple as an address update and to expect anything more is looking like this is just going to be another run around. So if people can go through a divorce pro se, can they start a child support case?

I have a CSE case in the state of FL, and have for about 9 years now. In my humble opinion one of your mistakes was you dropped your first case after only 8 months. I know it seems like a long time when you are waiting for results but it really is not all that long considering they are working thousands of cases. Believe me I understand how frustrating it is when you want results and they can't even seem to get an address on file after you provide it to them several times. I have had the same thing happen to me as well. I do think they try their best, I try to remember I am one of thousands of cases they are working, but yes it is very frustrating.
Yes, you can certanily go Pro-se. I would not undertake this task lightly. Make sure you research it, and if you feel comfortable doing so go for it. I did this a couple of times. In fact just finished one last year. The CSE would not enforce the Order for me, my X was in arrears, he was not paying and the CSE was okay with that as long as something was coming in once in a while, but it was not satisfactory to me. So I took him to court on contempt. I would research what you need to do for your county and go from there. I had very detailed information for my county and it was pretty self explanatory. Best of luck to you...

 

[Gracie3787]

The ex continues to dodge the system. He tends to move around when he runs out of (gets fired from...) employment so his address changes about twice a year. The state is horrible at keeping up, even when he files a change in address form. I had a case open but dropped it after nothing came of it when 8 months passed. I started another one last november, or rather picked the old one back up (they still had all the information in their system). I contacted them recently (about 3 months ago) to find out when the deal was and they said they had no current address for him. I gave them his current at the time which he still resides now. I called again 2 weeks ago and despite the fact that I GAVE THEM HIS ADDRESS! they were STILL stating they had no current address on file! I reminded them that I gave them the current and asked what happened to the information and they couldnt tell me.

Call them them a few days later and magically the information was there. They said that the address had been verified (took 3 months???) and that he would be served. Called yesterday and they said he still hadnt been served with court papers (almost 2 weeks after) and that they had no idea why as they knew where he was. They then told me that they were unable to do anything until 30 business days had passed and that I was to just continue to wait.

Well i'm done waiting. Its extremely clear that they arent able to get their acts together enough to get something as simple as an address update and to expect anything more is looking like this is just going to be another run around. So if people can go through a divorce pro se, can they start a child support case?

There was a two part story in the Sun and Mon Orlando Sentinel, describing the exact problems you are having with the DOR. In the story, a CP finally took matters into hand and had her ex arrested for non payment.

Normally, I would say stick with the DOR, but they have really been screwing up. So, you might want to close the case with the DOR and file a petition on your own as long as you are sure that you can have your ex served with the petition and summons.

You can find the forms and other info at Florida State Courts

The laws in chapter 61 of the statutes at Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : flsenate.gov

The Rules of Civil Procedure at FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

The Florida Family Law Rules at Florida Family Law Rules