back support owed to non custodial

[bears088]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new jersey
my child support payments were recently terminated. i live in NJ the ex in PA. it turns out that my ex now owes ME over $800. I have checked civil and small claims court but it states that i cant use those forms to file for owed child support. how do i get my overpayments back from my ex?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? new jersey
my child support payments were recently terminated. i live in NJ the ex in PA. it turns out that my ex now owes ME over $800. I have checked civil and small claims court but it states that i cant use those forms to file for owed child support. how do i get my overpayments back from my ex?

You'll need to explain how your ex owes you the money.

 

[bears088]

from what i iknow about the cs system in NJ. The day you file for termination of support is when the support stops. my case went before a court hearing officer 1 1/2 months later. Thus the back support is owed to me. I have the court papers that they sent to me stating that there was an overage of $867

 

[CSO286]

from what i iknow about the cs system in NJ. The day you file for termination of support is when the support stops. my case went before a court hearing officer 1 1/2 months later. Thus the back support is owed to me. I have the court papers that they sent to me stating that there was an overage of $867

Do you know this--for a fact?--or did someone tell you this?

Because I'm thinking you are out of luck here. I will look it up in the am, but I don't think you can force mom to repay this 800$.

 

[mistoffolees]

Do you know this--for a fact?--or did someone tell you this?

Because I'm thinking you are out of luck here. I will look it up in the am, but I don't think you can force mom to repay this 800$.

That appears to be the case.

First citation is an attorney who has offices in both NY and NJ. They didn't specify which one they were talking about:
Over-Payment of Child Support Can Only Be Re-Couped Against "Add-Ons" : New York Divorce Report : Daniel E. Clement: New Jersey & NY Lawyer & Attorney for Family Law & Pre-Nuptials
"But what happens if the parent paying support is current in making support payments under an existing order and is granted a downward modification? There would have been an over-payment of support. Could the parent paying support further reduce the child support payment to recoup the overpayment? The Appellate Division, First Department answered that question with a unanimous “No.”"

This appears to be the case in most other states, as well. Once paid, CS is very difficult to recover.

NJ's site says that ending the order does not resolve overpayment issues:
http://tinyurl.com/3plb443

That clearly says that if OP want to recover his money, he needs to file a separate action in court to recover. First, this might or might not be successful, and even if it was, it would take a great deal of time and possibly money to pursue it. It's almost certainly not worth it for the amount involved.

I hope that others reading this learn a lesson - people should file to have CS terminated before the qualifying event. You know when the child will turn 18 or graduate from high school, so get your paperwork in early.

 

[CSO286]

OK, so I am not sure if the support order is out of PA or NJ, but since Misto covered the NJ angle, I'll hit on the PA one. This si not an endorsement, just osme info I found:
http://pafamilylaw.foxrothschild.com/2008/01/articles/support/will-my-child-support-obligation-ever-end/]Will My Child Support Obligation Ever End? : Pennsylvania Family Law

In Pennsylvania, parents have a duty to support their children until the children are emancipated.

Whether a child is emancipated depends on the facts of each particular case. In the vast majority of cases, once a child turns 18 and has graduated from high school, the child is emancipated. This is different from other states that require a parent to continue to pay support while a child is in college.

<snip>

In order to terminate a child support order, a Petition to Vacate needs to be filed several weeks prior to the child&#8217;s eighteenth birthday or high school graduation, whichever event occurs later. The termination will not happen automatically.

<snip>

And from the PA Human Serivces website:
https://www.humanservices.state.pa.us/CSWS/csws_controller.aspx?b@SyBup2WbI3Rd67DI3PinpAaSgCrFZiym@@o2eF@HXxAY@AaKhKgDufcAwcPNAX7bZPAu57fhnR6JRmwwQjEwJbv_ClTi6Q8NBWeR43RJj3LswyPbAj

Pennsylvania law establishes that both parents are liable for the support of their children who are unemancipated and 18 years of age or younger. However, parents may be liable for the support of their children who are 18 years of age or older. For example, a support obligation may continue for a child who is 18 and still attending high school. When a child is emancipated, or over 18 years of age and no longer attending high school, one of the parents may file a "Petition for Modification of an Existing Support Order" to request that the child support order be stopped. See Question and Answer #3 for more information.
<snip>

I can't find anything that specifically addressed recouping what you beleive to have overpaid, but it will most certainly (as Misto stated) cost you more than the $867 you believe you overpaid.

My non-legla adivce: Believe the money was used to benefit your [mutual] child and let it go.