PAYING COSTS FOR SON BEING WARD OF STATE OF CALIFORNIA

[HARRY C. GOODALL SR.]

My son was a ward of the state from age 15 thru age 25.
The County of L.A. charged me for these years ,ages 15,16,17,18;& he was kept in a california state youth authority facility thru & I was charged for up to the age 18.
these charges were paid in full,& acknowledged,by the County.Now......after about 10yrs,they have began making leins on my income tax returns for the last couple of years.I have called them several times,and spoken with a number of folks at the county office.The first two times I tried to resolve this matter,I was told,"it would be taken care of,and their records would be updated.One kind soul even explained that ,it should have never happend,that EVERYONE WHO HAD EVER BEEN ON THEIR CONTACT LIST,WAS SENT THESE NOTICES,BECAUSE THE D.A.WAS GETTING TOUGH ON
"DEAD BEAT DADS"WHO WERE EMPLOYED-TO RECOVER FUNDS FROM THOSE, WHO NEVER PAID IN THE FIRST PLACE!But,after one year without hearing another word-but still not recieving any
thing "offical"acknowledging my debt was "PAID IN FULL"
THE COLLECTIONS STARTING AGAIN. Again I called,only to hear-I never had made ANY PAYMENTS!We had a fire in our garage
& many old files ,were lost.All my recipts over 7yrs old
were kept in sealed boxes.& now.....after all these years,
I can't show my proof. That's all they needed to hear.
I am now getting bills from them again-for the entire original amount.The same amount ,That was verified BY THEM -THAT WAS PAID IN FULL.Can ANYONE HELP??????
THANK YOU. HCGSR.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

As a practitioner myself for nearly 21 years in Los Angeles, I can tell you that without receipts or copies of checks, you don't have any defense to the County of Los Angeles' collection efforts. The usual defenses of Laches and Estoppel do not apply when a governmental agency is the one doing the collecting.

However, there is one, last, hope for you in the face of your destroyed records - - that hopefully, those many years ago, you made payments to the County by personal check. If you did, go to the bank you used at that time, and pay them to run a search of their microfiche records for your checks. If the check records still exist, have them make copies for you, CERTIFIED BY THE BANK, and send copies of the same to the County of Los Angeles. This would be the only way to stop the County - - short of litigation.

While this is an expensive proposition, it is still far, far, cheaper than having to pay the County all over again.

Good luck to you.

IAAL