Contempt Hearing Scheduled

[fedupinFL]

What is the name of your state?
FL

After many many months of waiting, I finally go to court next Wednesday to request contempt charges be filed against my ex for non-payment of CS.

This has gone on for 12 + years and he is at $30,000.00 in arrears owed. This is his 3rd hearing (didn't show for 1st 2) and I don't think he will show up again.

In addition to the child support he was ordered to pay, he was ordered by the court in the final judgement for dissolution to maintain medical insurance coverage for my 2 children (at his expense) and pay half of all uncovered medical expenses.
He cancelled the children's insurance coverage the day after the divorce was final and has never paid a dime towards any of their medical (surprise, surprise).
This has never been addressed by CSE.
I have done the basic calculations detailing what I have paid for my childrens medical insurance and it adds up to roughly $13,000.00 (this is only my children's portion of what I paid out). I am not counting other expenses since I can't gather the details for that.

My questions are:
If I request it, can the judge add this amount to the amount he is in arrears for?
What proof do I need showing what was paid out?

I know that you can't get blood from a stone, but I have been their sole support for the past 12 years (thank God!) and just want the records to reflect the correct amount he owes me and I think the judge needs to know that monthly support was not the only thing he withheld from them.
Thanks for any info and direction you can provide.

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state? FL
In addition to the child support he was ordered to pay, he was ordered by the court in the final judgement for dissolution to maintain medical insurance coverage for my 2 children (at his expense) and pay half of all uncovered medical expenses.He cancelled the children's insurance coverage the day after the divorce was final and has never paid a dime towards any of their medical (surprise, surprise).
This has never been addressed by CSE.
I have done the basic calculations detailing what I have paid for my childrens medical insurance and it adds up to roughly $13,000.00 (this is only my children's portion of what I paid out). I am not counting other expenses since I can't gather the details for that.

My questions are:
If I request it, can the judge add this amount to the amount he is in arrears for?

Yes, of course you can request it -- it's in your court order and Dad has not paid. Disgustingly, willfully not paid. I don't know what your judge will do, but s/he SHOULD add it to the amount.

UNLESS there is some FL rule (I'm not in FL -- you should check out Gracie's posts for lots of FL info) that you should have mailed him bills, return receipt requested (RRR), and show that kind of proof that he didn't pay. He then could (pathetically) attempt to show that he paid you, but since he didn't...

What proof do I need showing what was paid out?

See just above about possible FL rule about you sending bills. Did you? Can you show that?
Definitely bring all evidence of cost and payment. Include a separate copy of your decree that shows he is to pay those bills, highlight that segment. Make it EASY for the judge to SEE.

I know that you can't get blood from a stone, but I have been their sole support for the past 12 years (thank God!) and just want the records to reflect the correct amount he owes me and I think the judge needs to know that monthly support was not the only thing he withheld from them.

I can see and appreciate your point.

Thanks for any info and direction you can provide.

You're welcome. Again, I direct you to Gracie's posts. She's the FL Queen. Others have great FL posts, but alas, due to a caffeine deficiency, I cannot come up with their names right now.

 

[fedupinFL]

Yes, of course you can request it -- it's in your court order and Dad has not paid. Disgustingly, willfully not paid. I don't know what your judge will do, but s/he SHOULD add it to the amount.

UNLESS there is some FL rule (I'm not in FL -- you should check out Gracie's posts for lots of FL info) that you should have mailed him bills, return receipt requested (RRR), and show that kind of proof that he didn't pay. He then could (pathetically) attempt to show that he paid you, but since he didn't...

See just above about possible FL rule about you sending bills. Did you? Can you show that?
Definitely bring all evidence of cost and payment. Include a separate copy of your decree that shows he is to pay those bills, highlight that segment. Make it EASY for the judge to SEE.

I can see and appreciate your point.

You're welcome. Again, I direct you to Gracie's posts. She's the FL Queen. Others have great FL posts, but alas, due to a caffeine deficiency, I cannot come up with their names right now.

Thanks for the info.

I had no idea where he was to send him the bills once I started working. By the time I knew their insurance was cancelled, he had quit his job, skipped town and we didn't hear from him for 3 years.

He returned to town for a week or so to see if I had changed my mind and wanted him back. When I shot him down on that, he left again for another 6 years.

He's been back in the state now for almost 4 years but manages to keep his whereabouts a mystery. He crawls out from whatever rock he is hiding under to call my oldest (sho is 24) for money, but lays low most of the time.

I'm getting letters from my employers detailing the coverage and amounts paid as proof and will have the court order copied and highlighted as you suggested when I go on Wednesday.

Hopefully Gracie will see this and let me know if there is a rule about notifying him over the years and if I am out of luck because of the situation. Until then, I'll go over her posts to see if I can find out more info.

Thanks, I appreciate the input you have given me. Having to rely on CSE & the FLDOR has proven to be a very frustrating experience.

P.S. I understand the caffeine deficiency amnesia, it happens to me all the time!!
fedupinfl

 

[Silverplum]

You're totally welcome.

Now that it's afternoon and I've had LOTS of caff, I remember: GINNY!! Check her posts, too -- she knows both Michigan and Florida.

My state has their Rules on the court website -- have you checked FL's court website for rules?? Maybe there.

 

[Gracie3787]

Did your ex comply with the requirement to keep the court, CSE and you notified each time his address changed?

From your post it sounds like he didn't, so the easy thing to do is check with your DOR caseworker to make sure he didn't notify them. Then check the court file/docket to make sure he didn't notify the court.

If there is nothing in the file/docket showing notification of address, he will be unable to complain that you didn't send the bills. Just explain to the Judge that you tried to send the bills, but since he didn't comply with the law, you were unable to. You definately should request that both the insurance and the medical bills be added to the arrears amount. Actually, that is one of the reasons for a contempt hearing, to determine the exact amount of arrears owed.

 

[fedupinFL]

He did one time in 12 years, when he was in Tennesee at some point in time. But it wasn't his address, it was a friend's. He called them to ask about a downward modification and they sent the paperwork to him. He never returned it.

At some point later he denied to my oldest that he requested the paperwork and told her he was told I had to request the modification.

CSE told me that they had an address, but they wouldn't give it to me or even tell me what state he was in.

My oldest has known where he has been for about the past 6 years. Sometimes she slips and mentions where he is working or what type of work he is doing. I put my PI hat on at that point and get the info I need and give it to CSE. But for the past year and a half I've come up empty handed.

I told CSE that my oldest knows his whereabouts so they took her address to use to mail the hearing notice, as he stays w/ her from time to time (when he is between roommates to sponge off of) and gets other mail at that address.

This man (if you can call him that) hasn't seen my son since he was 4. He's 17 now and considers my Fiance' his Dad.

I doubt he will show Wednesday.....he has a warrant for his arrest for non-payment of a ticket for driving on a suspended licence. The suspension was a result of non-payment of child support and all they did was issue a ticket. I just don't get this state!!

If you think of anything else I can do to prepare for court, let me know.
I really appreciate the help.

 

[fedupinFL]

4 months later and still no $$$

I just had to post this update, seeing there are a few others here that are not very happy with the Florida Department of Revenue CSE Unit at this moment.

My court date came and went, and of course he didn't show. I never even got to speak to the mediator to give them my insurance paperwork.
They told me before they dismissed me from the waiting room that a Writ of Attachment would be issued and they set a purge amount.
Ok, at this point I figured that it would just be a matter of time until he got caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be and it would catch up with him then.

That's what I get for thinking!!!

From time to time I run his name through the Clerk of the Courts online records program and, lo and behold, this morning I discovered that there is a new case listed under his name.
Seems that he and a buddy were loitering outside of a convienence store and the police carded both of them. A writ came up on my X, but it wasn't the one they were supposed to issue in December. He was taken into custody for the writ and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Writ was one from earlier in 2007 when he failed to pay his fine for driving on a suspended licence (suspended for failure to pay child support). All they did when the caught him driving on a suspended was issue a ticket, which he never paid. That's why they issued the Writ for that one.
I called DOR/CSE today and the customer service lady told me that the writ WAS issued for his contempt charge and she couldn't understand why it didn't come up.
My question is:
It sounds to me like they never issued the writ for the contempt charge in December.
Does anyone know how I can check on this without going down to the local DOR office? The lady in the records department of the Sheriff's office told me there is no way for me to find out if a warrant has been issued for him, even if it's for a case I'm involved with.
Does anyone know if this true????

 

[Gemini]

Try this

https://taxapp2.state.fl.us/cse/writs/

This is the Florida Department of Revenue online writ search site. I hope this helps.

 

[fedupinFL]

Thanks Gemini, I appreciate the help!

I figured that there had to be a way to find the information I needed.
I'm even more perplexed now. It says the Warrant date is 12/05/07, but the Writ entry date is 02/08/08.
Does that mean that it wasn't in effect until 02/08/08?
He was picked up 8 days later, anyone have any ideas as to why it didn't come up?
I found the email address for the clerk for the judge assigned to his criminal case. Would I be out of line if I sent her an email about the situation, or would it be better to write a letter and mail it.
I want to make sure that they know about the second writ and he is held accountable for it.
I am just so very tired of him getting over on me, my son and the system.
Any suggestions?