Sued for back child support

[fvstringpicker47]

Georgia. Due to job loss and hospitalization my son moved from Florida to Georgia and is about 8 months in arrears on child support payment. One child who will soon turn 18 is suing him for back child support. My son has no job (disability) and no meaningful assets but acknowledges he owes the money and will pay when the disability payments come in. My question is will a court award in respect to the suit re-characterize the arrears from past due child support to a court award via the suit, thus taking the arrears out of the hands of the state for enforcement.

 

[stealth2]

For starters, the child has no standing to sue - it would be either the mother or the state (if the state provided support).

 

[justalayman]

Georgia. Due to job loss and hospitalization my son moved from Florida to Georgia and is about 8 months in arrears on child support payment. One child who will soon turn 18 is suing him for back child support. My son has no job (disability) and no meaningful assets but acknowledges he owes the money and will pay when the disability payments come in. My question is will a court award in respect to the suit re-characterize the arrears from past due child support to a court award via the suit, thus taking the arrears out of the hands of the state for enforcement.

Has your son filed for an adjustment of his obligation due to his newly experienced disability? If it is permanent or long term he should do so. He would not be expected to pay the same amount if he can no longer earn an income.

Then, as stealth2 states, his child has no standing to sue. Child support is not owed to a child. It is owed to the parent loc the child (or the state in some situations). It is payment to aid in the cost of raising the child. It is intended to aid the custodial parent in providing food, shelter, and General expenses for the child.

So, your son needs to respond to the suit stating the plaintiff lacks standing to sue and seek a dismissal of the suit.

 

[fvstringpicker47]

I haven't read the suit. There's an effort to serve him but he's in a mental hospital until Monday; another suicide attempt. It is likely his ex-wife and new husband are suing on behalf of the child, who is 17 until October. If the back child support doesn't belong to the kid, Is there any basis for a suit. It would also seem that since the back child support is already "booked" and subject to collection in accordance with state law, a suit would be redundant. He has recently got a letter from Florida that they intend to levy on his assets. It seems the "muscle" of the state to collect would far exceed a personal judgement from a suit.

 

[stealth2]

Mom would be suing on her own behalf - the money is owed to her. It is also entirely possible that the state is going after him for money owed the state - if Mom received aid for the kid(s). So it's impossible to say if the suit is redundant. Besides, knowing how slowly the state sometimes acts, a two-pronged attack may make perfect sense.

 

[fvstringpicker47]

"A two pronged attack" sounds right in respect to his ex-wife. She left with the kids for another guy, filed and got child support, including them staying on his health insurance. After she ditched, or was ditched by the other guy, she faked a reconciliation with him and backed out the night she was suppose to come back him, moved in with her former BF's cousin. My son ended up in a mental institution, 6 month of in-house rehab, lost his job, insurance, the works. She divorced him while he was in rehab and married the cousin.
I don't know where they are going or hope to gain. He has no job and no assets. But for us, a couple of other relatives, and a couple of hundred a month in food stamps, he'd be homeless. Sorry for the rant. I don't understand why only one kid is named in the suit.

 

[stealth2]

I don't understand why only one kid is named in the suit.

I thought you haven't read the suit...

Honestly? The best way to help your son is to help him with a lawyer.

 

[fvstringpicker47]

I haven't read it. The legal service that's trying to serve him told me as much. I'm trying to garner as much basic information as I can. I understand the saying that anybody who tries to be his own attorney has a fool for a client. But, I don't want to be completely ignorant since he's not emotionally capable at this point to handle it. I don't want to be flying blind if I can help it.

 

[LdiJ]

I haven't read it. The legal service that's trying to serve him told me as much. I'm trying to garner as much basic information as I can. I understand the saying that anybody who tries to be his own attorney has a fool for a client. But, I don't want to be completely ignorant since he's not emotionally capable at this point to handle it. I don't want to be flying blind if I can help it.

The reality of things is that he had children he was/is responsible to help support. It is irrelevant what the mother of those children did in terms of their relationship. All that matters is that he was/is responsible to participate in supporting his children.

If he did not support them according to court orders then he owes arrears...and current support going forward until or unless the orders are modified.

If he is disabled then its critical that he go back to court to get the orders modified based on the fact that he is disabled. That is where you need to help him.

 

[fvstringpicker47]

He's definitely responsible for the child support and paid it in full up to 9 months ago whe he was institutioalized and lost his job. My annoyance stems from my conversation in March with his ex telling her that he filed for disability, retained an attorney who opined that his chance of receive disability is excellent and the back child support would be paid, actually withheld by the government, from accrued benefit when/if they find favorably for his disability. It seems this suit in nothing more than an irritant and kick in the ribs since he has no resources to pay any settlement. He plans to just waive any defense and let her have a judgement. Says he doesn't have it in him to defend himself. In reality, who's going to hire an engineering tech just released from the nut house.

 

[LdiJ]

He's definitely responsible for the child support. My annoyance stems from my conversation in March with his ex telling her that he filed for disability, retained an attorney who opined that his chance of receive disability is excellent and the back child support would be paid, actually withheld by the government, from accrued benefit when/if the find favorably for his disability. It seems this suit in nothing more than an irritant and kick in the ribs since he has no resources to pay any settlement. He plans to just waive any defense and let her have a judgement. Says he doesn't have it in him to defend himself.

The reality of things is that the suit would be a way to firmly establish what he owes in child support and therefore a way to firmly establish what needs to be withheld from any lump sum amounts and current amounts that he receives from disability.

Where you and he might end up going wrong is that you may not understand that its necessary to go back to court get the court to order that any lump sum distributions for the child would be applied to back child support and that ongoing child benefits would replace child support.

 

[justalayman]

In reality, who's going to hire an engineering tech just released from the nut house.

Well, some people come out of a “nut house” in better shape than they have been in their entire life! Being in a mental hospital is a lot like being in a regular hospital. Some patients recieve trestment but it does little to abate their issues and will always deal with their malady for the rest of their lives. Some patients recieve treatment and with continued treatment have no other issues from their malady. Some people are cured of their malady and simply go on with life.

Your blanket statement is an unfair condemnation of our mental health services.

 

[commentator]

Quote: If he is disabled then its critical that he go back to court to get the orders modified based on the fact that he is disabled. That is where you need to help him.

Amen. So he has not yet been approved for disability? Has he got an attorney to assist him with filing for SS disability? He isn't sounding totally unemployable in the future to me. It's not at all certain that SS Disability will think so either. I think it is unhelpful to blame the whole situation on the ex wife. He's also one of the parents of the child (ren) No one who is not one of the parties, is looking from the outside could really say with decisiveness that he's a blameless lilly and it's all her fault, she caused the whole thing.

But if as he says, he is "not going to fight it" and is just letting it play out, why, if you aren't going to help hire him an attorney and encourage him to help get these things settled, you're not helping. This suit sounds like her attorney advising her to get this support situation established, not an effort to kick him while he's down. (Regardless of who she's with, married to, being with, made up with, she still has your son's child or children, is due the child support, or the state for any aid she has received will pursue the child support.)

 

[fvstringpicker47]

"Your blanket statement is an unfair condemnation of our mental health services."

Yah, that was over the top and I shouldn't have said it. If it weren't for mental health service, he'd likely be dead. He just got out of a five day stay in the psychiatric ward for suicidal thoughts and comment to his councilor. I'm just perplexed about the reason for the lawsuit when a civil judgement from a state court would seem to have less "reach" to collect money that child support laws that are on the books.
I've already notified Florida's child support program of his application for disability and they've been in contact with the his disability attorney. The amount or arrears for both kids is less than the maximum that can be "garnished" by the state and will likely be determined and settled before a civil suit can be heard. I don't know what the motive for the suit is when theo only viable avenue for getting the arrears paid, at least in the short term, is future disability payments.