What is the name of your state? Colorado
Things are finally looking up for my husband, and here comes the Child Support Enforcement gestapo again.
He applied for and was accepted for the State Vocational Rehabilitation program. Part of the requirement for his surgery is that he obtain a GED, since he is without a high school diploma. His first pre-test results were not very hopeful, he scored less than 50%.
They have confirmed that he will no longer be able to do construction, and will need full vocational re-training. Since he's been in construction for 15 years, they are considering management training in order to take advantage of his already existing skill set.
They are requiring him to take his GED test prior to his surgery, but he doesn't have to pass it yet. So he's scheduled to take it the first week of next month. I'm helping him study, he seems to know the answers... it's more of a comprehension problem.
I am on the same program, though my disability is rated higher than his and mine is considered permanent. They have decided to allow me to work from home, doing computer graphics. Which my worker says is very uncommon, so I'm very thankful for the chance to continue working in a field I love.
Anyhow, in the middle of all of this good news he gets served with a contempt of court. When we were in court in September we explained the situation, had his child support lowered, and the judge denied their request for an additional amount for arrearages until our situation improved.
So now I'm putting together his reply for the court, outlining everything I told you above. What do I and don't I need to include?
Also while researching Colorado laws on the matter I came across a few things that I needed to ask about.
14-10-115 7.III.b. “except that a determination of potential income shall not be made for a parent who is physically or mentally incapacitated”
“...in circumstances in which the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income is less than eight hundred fifty dollars, a child support payment of fifty dollars per month shall be required of the obligor.”
According to the above, his child support should have been lowered to $50 a month but CSE claimed he had the ability to work and chose not to. Or am I misunderstanding this section?
His ex is not working either, and has not worked at all in years. He did call her as soon as he was injured and warned her that he would have to lower child support. During the last hearing she just kept whining about how he ad a responsibility to support his daughter. The judge finally told her that she had that same responsibility. Towards the end of the hearing, when she realized the judge was supporting my hubands side of the case she threw a fit saying she had scoliosis. Later she told us she had psoriasis, and most recently she discovered my diagnosis and has tried pushing for it.
Why is it so crucial that he get a job despite his injury, when she hasn't even tried to get one and has no medical proof of her claims? Is it just because she has physical custody? Should it be brought up or should we just let it go?
14-10-115 7.III.b.I Work activities may include one or more of the following: (D) Vocational training;
14-10-115 7.III.b.I (C) “The parent is enrolled in an educational program which is reasonably intended to result in a degree or certification within a reasonable period of time and which will result in a higher income, so long as the educational program is a good faith career choice which is not intended to deprive the child of support and which does not unreasonably reduce the support available to a child.”
So according to this his voluntary enrollment in VR should fall under these rules, right? We live in a very isolated rural area, we are 100 miles from the nearest stoplight. I have gathered copies of the paper for the last four weeks, and there are at the most three jobs listed per week, all requiring a High School Diploma, CDL or heavy manual labor.
The nearest jobs would be 60 miles one way, and Child support already took his drivers license. Even if he could get a job, it would prove to DVR that he did not need assistance and cancel out his need for their services. Leaving him unable to get his surgery, and giving up any chance he has of making a decent income again.
14-10-115 3 a “Reasons for the deviation and the presumed amount under the guidelines without a deviation. These reasons may include, but are not limited to, the extraordinary medical expenses incurred for treatment of either parent or a current spouse.
Also I found this interesting, since both of us are disabled we should meet this section. I require a lot of assistance with daily living depending on the day. I am not able to drive most of the time, especially if my pain levels are high, then I'm on both pain killers and muscle relaxers.
I'm not an attorney, and there is no way we can afford one in this situation but having him go to jail when we are so close to getting back on our feet again would totally set us back to square one.
We both regret our situation, and we both understand his responsibility to his daughter. It's not that we have the ability to pay and choose not to, and it's not that we don't want to pay... it's that we can't. We can barely pay the bills we have for daily living, and we have three kids on this end to support too. I get $900 a mont in child support, and my income at the moment is about $300 - $500 but expected to go up soon. At the moment it's all going back into the business.
On top of our other financial issues CSE made a mess of MY case, and lost my Child Support every other month for six months or so. I finally had to close my case with them just to make sure we had some sort of income during this difficult time.
So really, all we need is another 6 months to a year to get his surgery, physical therapy, and retraining and he can hopefully return to his preinjury wage of $30 an hour or close to it.
It is important to note that we are working with a government agency, and they do tend to drag their feet. I've been on the program for a year and a half, and am on my third counselor. They are just now getting my plan written and approved. They do work very slowly.
So that's essentially what we plan to tell the court. Does any of it matter? What is the most important? Anything that isn't relevent?
Anything else to consider?
I really appreciate all of your help, and I'm looking forward to getting back to a two income household.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Things are finally looking up for my husband, and here comes the Child Support Enforcement gestapo again.
He applied for and was accepted for the State Vocational Rehabilitation program. Part of the requirement for his surgery is that he obtain a GED, since he is without a high school diploma. His first pre-test results were not very hopeful, he scored less than 50%.
They have confirmed that he will no longer be able to do construction, and will need full vocational re-training. Since he's been in construction for 15 years, they are considering management training in order to take advantage of his already existing skill set.
They are requiring him to take his GED test prior to his surgery, but he doesn't have to pass it yet. So he's scheduled to take it the first week of next month. I'm helping him study, he seems to know the answers... it's more of a comprehension problem.
I am on the same program, though my disability is rated higher than his and mine is considered permanent. They have decided to allow me to work from home, doing computer graphics. Which my worker says is very uncommon, so I'm very thankful for the chance to continue working in a field I love.
Anyhow, in the middle of all of this good news he gets served with a contempt of court. When we were in court in September we explained the situation, had his child support lowered, and the judge denied their request for an additional amount for arrearages until our situation improved.
So now I'm putting together his reply for the court, outlining everything I told you above. What do I and don't I need to include?
Also while researching Colorado laws on the matter I came across a few things that I needed to ask about.
14-10-115 7.III.b. “except that a determination of potential income shall not be made for a parent who is physically or mentally incapacitated”
“...in circumstances in which the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income is less than eight hundred fifty dollars, a child support payment of fifty dollars per month shall be required of the obligor.”
According to the above, his child support should have been lowered to $50 a month but CSE claimed he had the ability to work and chose not to. Or am I misunderstanding this section?
His ex is not working either, and has not worked at all in years. He did call her as soon as he was injured and warned her that he would have to lower child support. During the last hearing she just kept whining about how he ad a responsibility to support his daughter. The judge finally told her that she had that same responsibility. Towards the end of the hearing, when she realized the judge was supporting my hubands side of the case she threw a fit saying she had scoliosis. Later she told us she had psoriasis, and most recently she discovered my diagnosis and has tried pushing for it.
Why is it so crucial that he get a job despite his injury, when she hasn't even tried to get one and has no medical proof of her claims? Is it just because she has physical custody? Should it be brought up or should we just let it go?
14-10-115 7.III.b.I Work activities may include one or more of the following: (D) Vocational training;
14-10-115 7.III.b.I (C) “The parent is enrolled in an educational program which is reasonably intended to result in a degree or certification within a reasonable period of time and which will result in a higher income, so long as the educational program is a good faith career choice which is not intended to deprive the child of support and which does not unreasonably reduce the support available to a child.”
So according to this his voluntary enrollment in VR should fall under these rules, right? We live in a very isolated rural area, we are 100 miles from the nearest stoplight. I have gathered copies of the paper for the last four weeks, and there are at the most three jobs listed per week, all requiring a High School Diploma, CDL or heavy manual labor.
The nearest jobs would be 60 miles one way, and Child support already took his drivers license. Even if he could get a job, it would prove to DVR that he did not need assistance and cancel out his need for their services. Leaving him unable to get his surgery, and giving up any chance he has of making a decent income again.
14-10-115 3 a “Reasons for the deviation and the presumed amount under the guidelines without a deviation. These reasons may include, but are not limited to, the extraordinary medical expenses incurred for treatment of either parent or a current spouse.
Also I found this interesting, since both of us are disabled we should meet this section. I require a lot of assistance with daily living depending on the day. I am not able to drive most of the time, especially if my pain levels are high, then I'm on both pain killers and muscle relaxers.
I'm not an attorney, and there is no way we can afford one in this situation but having him go to jail when we are so close to getting back on our feet again would totally set us back to square one.
We both regret our situation, and we both understand his responsibility to his daughter. It's not that we have the ability to pay and choose not to, and it's not that we don't want to pay... it's that we can't. We can barely pay the bills we have for daily living, and we have three kids on this end to support too. I get $900 a mont in child support, and my income at the moment is about $300 - $500 but expected to go up soon. At the moment it's all going back into the business.
On top of our other financial issues CSE made a mess of MY case, and lost my Child Support every other month for six months or so. I finally had to close my case with them just to make sure we had some sort of income during this difficult time.
So really, all we need is another 6 months to a year to get his surgery, physical therapy, and retraining and he can hopefully return to his preinjury wage of $30 an hour or close to it.
It is important to note that we are working with a government agency, and they do tend to drag their feet. I've been on the program for a year and a half, and am on my third counselor. They are just now getting my plan written and approved. They do work very slowly.
So that's essentially what we plan to tell the court. Does any of it matter? What is the most important? Anything that isn't relevent?
Anything else to consider?
I really appreciate all of your help, and I'm looking forward to getting back to a two income household.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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