Ex is contesting Enforcement

[nicvic]

What is the name of your state? PA

My ex husband owes me almost $60,000 in arrears, I live in Pennsylvania and he took of to various parts of Indiana. I initially filed for child support 13 years ago and as you can see by the amount of arrears he has hardly paid a dime. I called my child support office today to see if anything is going on with my case and was informed that there is a hearing next month for him in Indiana. When I asked what this was about they told me they are trying to register the enforcement of my case in Indiana and he is now contesting it. What could he possibly be contesting?

 

[SingleMom67]

Uh, jail. 'Cuz that's where he'll be when they move enforcement to his area!!!

 

[nicvic]

lol, I assumed that is why he would want to contest it but what I don't understand is how in the heck can he contest getting the case registered in his state so they can enforce it. Is it possible that he could actually win and it not be moved to his state, this all just really baffles me. The child support worker I spoke with said he has the right to contest it and they can't violate his rights, to which I replied but it is ok for him to have violated his daughters right to receive support for the past 13 years, lol, even the case worker chuckled

 

[SingleMom67]

Are they moving jurisdiction of the case to his state or just enforcement? You want to make sure only enforcement is moved to his state because if there are future court hearings (and I'm assuming there will be), you will be required to travel to his state.

 

[nicvic]

I believe enforcement but I will call and find out for sure

 

[nicvic]

shoot it is already after 4pm so I will have to call them tomorrow, but I am almost positive the exact words that were used were they were "trying to register the case in Indiana for enforcement". I sure hope that is all it is, years ago they tried to move the whole case to Indiana and I put a stop to it because then I would never be able to go to court, I told them I did not want the case moved out of Allegheny County. I will call in the morning and let you know

 

[Golfball]

He could be contesting any one of the following:
- amount of the arrearage
- amount due per month
- whether the PA court had jurisdiction to enter the order in the first place. (If the marital residence was in PA, and you've continued to live in PA, I don't see how your ex could claim that the court lacked jurisdiction to enter the order. Won't necessarily stop him from trying, either.)

The list is by no means exhaustive, and I'm not an attorney, but I'm pretty sure those are the main reasons someone would contest things.

 

[nicvic]

Thanks Golfball,
The amount of the order hasn't changed in 10 years and the arrears are correct because I have kept track of them because at the very beginning I found that they made a mistake and had to have an audit done so I have watched ever since. My daughter was born here in PA and we have never left. When we split up he told me he would never pay and so far he has done a good job. About 3 years ago he must have opened a bank account because the courts froze the account and seized it, I got about $600, he could have contested then but didn't. I assume he is contesting now because if they enforce in his state he could go to jail. About once a year he gets a job and once the order comes through to attach his wages he quits so I never see a dime

 

[nicvic]

Hi Single Mom 67,

I spoke with my child support office today and the case is being sent to Indiana for enforcement only.

 

[GrowUp!]

Also, at the amount he is in arrears, he could be brought up on FEDERAL felony non-payment of child support charges.

 

[SingleMom67]

Hi Single Mom 67,

I spoke with my child support office today and the case is being sent to Indiana for enforcement only.

Oh good. Glad you checked on that. I'll keep my fingers crossed they enforce the order quickly and you see something in the near future. Stay on it. I'm assuming they know where he lives in Indiana?

 

[nicvic]

Also, at the amount he is in arrears, he could be brought up on FEDERAL felony non-payment of child support charges.

I actually had a meeting a few years back with someone about the Federal and she took all the information but I never heard back from them, I really had to push my county to contact them. I kept getting told that my case didn't qualify, it wasn't until I printed all the info out from the internet and showed them that they finally sent my case to the federal people. But like I said I never heard anything else from them

 

[nicvic]

Thanks SingleMom67,

Yes they finally got a good address on him, he has changed addresses about 15 times in the past 13 years , every time they find him he moves again, lol. I think he thinks everyone will just forget about this,I am sure he also thinks once she turns 18 that he won't have to pay what he owes either. I am in the process of trying to find out what happens then. I was told at one time that once she turns 18 it becomes a civil matter and I have to sue him for the arrears, but I am not sure if that is true

 

[SingleMom67]

Thanks SingleMom67,

Yes they finally got a good address on him, he has changed addresses about 15 times in the past 13 years , every time they find him he moves again, lol. I think he thinks everyone will just forget about this,I am sure he also thinks once she turns 18 that he won't have to pay what he owes either. I am in the process of trying to find out what happens then. I was told at one time that once she turns 18 it becomes a civil matter and I have to sue him for the arrears, but I am not sure if that is true

No, in PA, once you have an order on the record, it stays there until the arrearages are paid in full. It doesn't "become a civil matter." However, if you thought enforcing the order was bad now, it gets worse after the child turns 18. The system is just overloaded and there aren't enough resources. What little resources there are, they focus on "current" orders instead of ones in which the child has already turned 18.

Having said all of that, keep in mind that if and when the authorities DO catch up with your ex, since he's $60K in arrears, I would imagine he's got one heck of a purge amount to pay in order NOT to go to jail.

 

[nicvic]

Thanks SingleMom67, that is how I figured it worked too. I have kind of resigned myself to the fact that I will probaly never see all or any that is owed, but I refuse to ever give up totally.

I am glad that they are trying to have the enforcement done in his state maybe now he will realize he can't get away with it, but nothing is stopping him from just running to a different state. I just hope when he goes to court to contest the enforcement that the judge doesn't fall for any of the crap he may dish out