child care costs

[Lovingmom1]

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

I've searched for info on this and can't find any, so...I'll ask it.

Our current court order states that my ex should pay $400.00 in child support and half of all child care each month. He has been spotty about paying it, and has ended up with quite a bit of arrears and his wages are garnished for the current amount due only through Child Support Services. They are not garnishing for arrears because there is additional paperwork to complete and that is my next step/objective.

My concern is that I was told by Child Support Services that because the wording is "half of all child care" there is no specific amount and it cannot be enforced and wages cannot be garnished. I have receipts and tax returns that can prove the monthly amounts paid for the last 3 years of unpaid child care costs.

So, my question is...should I have the court order rewritten and what should it say? How does that work? Would my ex and I need to come to an agreement on this? Would it be worth the time/effort/costs?

Also, can I be reimbursed for those past costs or should I write them off and start over with a clean slate?

 

[WittyUserName]

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

I've searched for info on this and can't find any, so...I'll ask it.

Our current court order states that my ex should pay $400.00 in child support and half of all child care each month. He has been spotty about paying it, and has ended up with quite a bit of arrears and his wages are garnished for the current amount due only through Child Support Services. They are not garnishing for arrears because there is additional paperwork to complete and that is my next step/objective.

My concern is that I was told by Child Support Services that because the wording is "half of all child care" there is no specific amount and it cannot be enforced and wages cannot be garnished. I have receipts and tax returns that can prove the monthly amounts paid for the last 3 years of unpaid child care costs.

So, my question is...should I have the court order rewritten and what should it say? How does that work? Would my ex and I need to come to an agreement on this? Would it be worth the time/effort/costs?

Also, can I be reimbursed for those past costs or should I write them off and start over with a clean slate?

This happened to me, but what the CSEA caseworker meant was that it wasn't enforceable through CSEA, not that it wasn't enforceable at all. Is it possible that might have been what your caseworker meant?
It would seem that if you had a court order and receipts, you could use that in a courtroom to get a judgement. (Which is what I ultimately ended up doing.) It's a hassle, but then so is rewriting the court order.

 

[torimac]

I have my child support order out of CA. Without a specific amount for the child care in the order, I was told it could not be enforced.

I went back to court with receipts for a year of child care. Half of this amount, which was part of the original order, was added to the arrears. Then a new amount was ordered stating "$xxx.xx for child support and $xxx.xx for child care fees to be paid monthly, for a total amount of $xxx.xx". Once that was in place, CSEA had a specific amount they could order and enforce.

 

[CourtClerk]

I have my child support order out of CA. Without a specific amount for the child care in the order, I was told it could not be enforced.

This is correct...

 

[mistoffolees]

I have my child support order out of CA. Without a specific amount for the child care in the order, I was told it could not be enforced.

I went back to court with receipts for a year of child care. Half of this amount, which was part of the original order, was added to the arrears. Then a new amount was ordered stating "$xxx.xx for child support and $xxx.xx for child care fees to be paid monthly, for a total amount of $xxx.xx". Once that was in place, CSEA had a specific amount they could order and enforce.

The only problem with that is that child care costs change regularly - so you'd probably end up back in court every year or two.

It's really a shame people can't just pay what they're supposed to pay. I wonder why they never realize that it's likely to cost MORE in the end if the fool around.

 

[Lovingmom1]

The only problem with that is that child care costs change regularly - so you'd probably end up back in court every year or two.

It's really a shame people can't just pay what they're supposed to pay. I wonder why they never realize that it's likely to cost MORE in the end if the fool around.

The changing amount is certainly an issue, but I figured if I settle on an averaged amount that at least he would at least be helping me out somewhat, and even if we aren't breaking even there is less of a burden. I also figure that if it's an average amount, he might be overpaying in a month such as December when child care is paid only for 2 weeks, but be underpaying in a month such as March where it is a full month with no holidays, so it kind of comes out in the wash so to speak. I may end up on the short end, but I'm getting nothing now, so I feel like something is better than nothing. Is that logical?

Is there a way to avoid court and attorneys? We get along fairly well and I was hoping to bring this up to him so that we could try to agree outside of court dates.