Suspiciously timed and handled support modification motion

[kaizen]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

I've been involved in a custody case that from day one I contended was financially motivated by the other (non-custodial) parent. NCP lost and today I finally received the final signed order of parenting time.

Today I also received a notice of request for a motion for modification of child support. It is scheduled to go in front of the judge in ten days. The claim is that NCP "has been laid off from his employment and has been collecting unemployment benefits. Benefits will be exhausted in the next 30 days unless there is an extension of benefits."

Couple questions:

-If the above is true, is there any good reason a person would not have asked for a reduction in support obligations when they were first unemployed?


-Why not just go to the Friend of the Court and ask for a review due to a change in circumstances?

-Is there any reason I need to bring a lawyer with me to this court date (specifically because of the odd timing of it - would it raise any legal red flags?)

-"Unless there is an extenstion of benefits"....well, should we wait and see that then?

 

[nextwife]

I work in collections, and deal with a LOT of laid off people. Why not file earlier? Most people just DON'T think they will be unemployed that long. They keep thinking they will be turning up a job. That is, until benefits start running out and reality hits.

 

[kaizen]

I just looked and my bank account continues to list the child support deposits as "ach" which are automatic deposits made from NCP's end. He works (worked?) for his brother's company. After seeing that the automatic deposits have continued, I'm more confused.

I wouldn't imagine he would have told unemployment to take out and automatically deposit that amount in my account. If his brother's company is still doing it, how could that be if he was unemployed?

He's a little slimy. I'm a little suspicious.

 

[Just Blue]

posting Hx.

 

[kaizen]

Point is, Blue?

 

[Just Blue]

Point is, Blue?

Point is your posting Hx is relevant.

 

[kaizen]

That's quite a stretch there!

 

[Just Blue]

That's quite a stretch there!

IYO. Perhaps not others opinion.

 

[gam]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

I've been involved in a custody case that from day one I contended was financially motivated by the other (non-custodial) parent. NCP lost and today I finally received the final signed order of parenting time.

Today I also received a notice of request for a motion for modification of child support. It is scheduled to go in front of the judge in ten days. The claim is that NCP "has been laid off from his employment and has been collecting unemployment benefits. Benefits will be exhausted in the next 30 days unless there is an extension of benefits."

Couple questions:

-If the above is true, is there any good reason a person would not have asked for a reduction in support obligations when they were first unemployed?


-Why not just go to the Friend of the Court and ask for a review due to a change in circumstances?

-Is there any reason I need to bring a lawyer with me to this court date (specifically because of the odd timing of it - would it raise any legal red flags?)

-"Unless there is an extenstion of benefits"....well, should we wait and see that then?

In Michigan one has 2 choices they can go through Friend of the Court or they can file directly with the circuit court and pay the court filing fees. Why file directly, cause it is by far faster then going through FOC and FOC can only make recommendations, which either party can object to. Objecting drags the time out even further, often if you go through FOC it can be 3 steps, FOC, a Ref and the Judge. Filing directly with the court is only 2 steps, sometimes only 1, either a Ref and a Judge or the Judge directly. My advice to people I personally know in Michigan, is to skip going through FOC, just a wasted step, that in the end cost you more missed time from work. So IMHO your ex was smart to file directly and skip FOC.

Depends on if the hearing is with a Ref or the Judge, on if you should take a lawyer. If it's with the Ref, then you can object, so no reason to take a lawyer. But if it is with the Judge, then yes, you should most likely take your lawyer, you can't object to the Judge, the Judge makes orders that you must appeal.

Sometimes the motion papers can be deceiving, it will say your seeing the Judge, but then you get there and the Judge has a list hanging outside his courtroom door, that will have many of the cases for that day, being seen by a Ref. Best bet is to call the circuit court clerk and have her check which you will be seeing. My advice to people I personally know in Michigan, is to not take a lawyer when going in front of FOC or a Ref, they only make recommendations, you can object. If they are going in front of the Judge, take the lawyer, Judges make orders, no objecting.

If your ex would have filed right after he started receiving unemployment benefits, he most likely would have been shot down for a modification. Now that he is nearing the end of the unemployment benefits, he could easily get a reduction, even if he were to get the benefits extended. Most often your unemployment benefits are not even close to what you were making when you actually were working. With the job situation in Michigan, it has become pretty easy for reductions in CS due to job losses with or without receiving unemployment benefits.

It's not odd timing, he has been unemployed for a bit, his unemployment benefits may be ending, he has a right to file for a modification, even if he does get an extension. If you just received the final signed order today, that means your ex also just received that final signed order today, has nothing to do with the fact you also received a motion for modification. Ex had no idea when those final orders would come, they mail both parties those orders on the same day.

 

[gam]

I just looked and my bank account continues to list the child support deposits as "ach" which are automatic deposits made from NCP's end. He works (worked?) for his brother's company. After seeing that the automatic deposits have continued, I'm more confused.

I wouldn't imagine he would have told unemployment to take out and automatically deposit that amount in my account. If his brother's company is still doing it, how could that be if he was unemployed?

He's a little slimy. I'm a little suspicious.

Is there an order to garnish your ex's wages? There must be if they were garnishing them before and making automatic deposits to your bank account. When one loses a job, starts collecting unemployment, that information gets sent to a big computer in Lansing, were all of MISDU information is kept. That computer lets FOC know, and FOC will send unemployment a garnishment paper. Unemployment then will garnish ones unemployment checks and it will be automatically deposited into your bank account. No different, then say your ex leaves one job and starts another, FOC sends the new job the order for garnishment. It all feeds into that MISDU computer in Lansing. Your tax dollars paid for that computer system. It's actually paid off by catching ones who try to sneak out of paying child support, which then forces the CP to maybe seek state benefits, which tax payers end up supporting someone else's child.

It's been discussed for about the past 10 years in the news. You can google MISDU, you can google CS, you can google CS enforcement for Michigan, all the info is there.

 

[Ohiogal]

I just looked and my bank account continues to list the child support deposits as "ach" which are automatic deposits made from NCP's end. He works (worked?) for his brother's company. After seeing that the automatic deposits have continued, I'm more confused.

I wouldn't imagine he would have told unemployment to take out and automatically deposit that amount in my account. If his brother's company is still doing it, how could that be if he was unemployed?

He's a little slimy. I'm a little suspicious.

And it is extremely possible unemployment is taking it out and automatically depositing in your account.

 

[kaizen]

Thanks for the explanations, gam.

I appreciate it.

 

[gam]

So much goes into that computer, any job that taxes is taken out of, any job change, unemployment, disability. All orders for garnishment are in that system, any change will have county FOC's sending new garnishment orders to new jobs and unemployment. If you have an order to carry medical insurance, that to is plugged in. So if someone is ordered to carry medical insurance on their child, and stops or loses that coverage, FOC knows.

Anytime a change occurs, FOC is suppose to send both parties to a case a letter. So when your x started collecting unemployment you should have received something. You usually receive it within a week or 2 of that change. Now it is possible if you are not receiving anything, that FOC does not have the correct address in their system for you, I've see it get changed for no reason. My daughter has to call FOC every so often, they like to change her x's address to hers, and she receives his and her paperwork. It's also possible your FOC(sorry didn't feel like looking in posting HX to see where you are), is not good, many don't do their job.

Are you signed up at misdu.com?