Back Support.. How to collect?

[tamidecali]

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

My divorce was final in 2002 with the court ordering my ex husband to pay $600 per month for my then 10 year old son. We had been separated for 2 years and my ex was paying me random monies here and there while I raised my son mostly on my own. He would be with his father every other weekend a couple hours one day a week.

The court order also states that ex Husband is supposed to pay for half of my son's expenses including clothes, school supplies, etc. He has never followed through with this part of the order. Court order also states that ex is suppsed to pick up son on Friday evening (every other week) and keep him the entire weekend until he drops him off at school Monday morning. This happened maybe for the firsat year, I am being generous there.

Child support payments have been spotty at best, never consistent and rarely for the entire $600 due.

Fast forward to now, his wage garnishments never happened as they were supposed to so I resubmitted the paperwork for that. We just got notification that his check will be be garnished and I should begin to receive payment.

How do I go about getting the money owed to my son and I for the past almost 6 years? The lawyer I contacted stated it is my responsibility to prove what he HAS paid so I can get what he Has Not paid. Is this true? How should it be my responsibility to prove what he has and has not done throughout the years? My son is now almost 16 years old and will be going to college. I am in need of a way to get money owed so that we can afford for him to be comfortable knowing he can actually attend college, etc.

I should mention that he rarely picks my son up for his weekends. Never calls him in between visits, if the visits ever happen. He does not participate in any school functions or take the time to even KNOW his child. His time is consumed with NOT paying and with complaining to me now that the order that was supposed to have been going on all these years is finally going to be enforced. My favorite line..."I am probably going to lose my house..." He is also raising 2 kids of his own and 1 that his now wife had from a previous relationship.... he adopted that child and is supporting a wife and 3 kids. Does this factor into my case?

Thank you.

 

[nanato2]

not in this state

I don't know about CA., but even in this backward state(Mississippi), it is the payors responsibility to prove what he/she has paid. As a matter of fact, Tn., and Ms, judges have told my ex, that they don't even accept written receipts, because he could have forced me to write them. They accept NOTHING paid outside of the Child Support Enforcement offices!!
I have just found out that my ex still owes me a good deal of money, because he stopped paying support when our daughter turned 18, but she went on to college, and he didn't help with anything thru those years. But my worker at the CSE office took his word for it, that my daughter was legally emancipated(Ms. age of majority is 21), and closed my case.
Your attorney should check on differences in the laws of your state since the Federal Govt. stepped in (in the early 90's, I think) and set the CSE program up. I cannot believe that these Southern states would be more advanced than Ca., when it comes to anything!!

 

[TheGeekess]

I don't know about CA., but even in this backward state(Mississippi)

If you have no experience of CALIFORNIA statutes (indeed, a state unto itself by all I've heard), your own experience will not help. Mississippi law is not applicable. You are muddying the waters for OP by quoting what happened to you in MS; I'm sure you meant well, but more reading/less posting would do you good.

 

[LdiJ]

If you have no experience of CALIFORNIA statutes (indeed, a state unto itself by all I've heard), your own experience will not help. Mississippi law is not applicable. You are muddying the waters for OP by quoting what happened to you in MS; I'm sure you meant well, but more reading/less posting would do you good.

While I agree with you that what happens in MS is not relevant to CA, I think that it still may be correct for CA as well, despite what dad's attorney is telling her.

I think that she needs to talk to the CSE about this, and perhaps consult independently with a local attorney as well.

However, she also needs to be a bit realistic as well. Dad is already whining that being garnished may cause him to lose his house. That means that dad's budget is tight already with just the regular CS. Therefore mom isn't going to get the arrearages as a lump sum even if she can enforce them, and dad could do something stupid out of desperation (like quit his job, move away so its hard to find him, etc.) if he feels like his back is to the wall.

Therefore, it might be better to wait to address the arrearages, closer to the time when CS would normally end....or at least after dad's budget has had time to adjust to paying the regular CS.