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Child support/contempt of court
Asked Feb 24, 2008, 10:09 PM
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19 Answers My 3 year old son's non-custodial father has not paid child support in over 6 months. It might have been longer than that but I wouldn't know as I was on welfare and had signed my son's support over to the state (I wasn't a slacker; I was working and finishing up my BA). I was able to get off that program 6 months ago but haven't support in that time. The support agency has issued contempt of court papers to him with 10 counts of contempt for failure to pay, failure to provide health insurance, and failure to provide employer contacts. I know he is working as a welder (among other things) but I am fairly sure he is working under the table, as he has since we separated. I am sure he is going to go to court and insist he isn't working, however, he has recently been issued a business licence and I'm fairly certain that he is making money through his own business that as well as through others. He is quite demeaning even if I ask for $10 (like I did tonight since we are completely broke until I get paid on Friday). He tells me to go get a job if I need more money, even though I work full time. He also insists that it's not fair he has to pay because I am a woman to put it the nicest way possible. Frankly I am not incredibly concerned about the money as I am able to scrape by most of the time, though it would be nice. I am just tired of him being able to show such blatant disrespect and arrogance about how he hasn't gotten in trouble yet. Actually, the extra money would be nice too. What I am wondering is what will happen at this court hearing. I am hoping in the least that the judge will make him understand it is his responsibility and he can't just get away with non-payment. I know that they can take away his licence or put him in jail, but I'm not sure how that will actually help me in getting child support. So half of me is hoping he will receive a strict 'talking to' by the judge and the other half is hoping he will finally pay...but I really just want to know what to expect. Can anyone help me? (Sorry if this is rambling - it's been hours since I've had coffee!) |
19 Answers
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| Well unfortunately most of the time it is just a slap on the wrist. My daughters bio father has had his license suspended numerous times. Finally it went to court when he was charged with contempt for all the reasons you listed. He was found guilty of contempt with a suspended sentence. He was told the next time he misses a payment it was going to be an automatic 30 days in jail. So while I doubt they will do anything such as jail time, he will be talked to by the judge. He will have a arrearage amount of child support that will increase his monthly child support to included a percentage of the back child support. So as far as what to expect....most likely he will just get a talking to with the attorney for welfare or child support, and the judge. Good luck. | ||||
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| Hello again! A slap on the wrist WAS all he got. They ended up lowering his child support to $185 plus 1/2 of daycare which, at the time, was $28 bringing it to $213 with 6 months to purge the contempt charges. That was in April, he didn't pay anything until October, when it was automatically taken out of a few unemployment checks. We went back to court in Oct, and he didn't show. The judge ordered a bench warrant; somehow it was never served. The last payment I got was December 2nd and the child support department said they had done all they could do. I finally had enough when, the other day, I called and said I wanted to talk about child support, and he stated he thought I wanted to talk about something important. I told him - and I probably shouldn't have - that it was not beneath me to make a flyer with all this info on it and post it in his neighborhood. (It IS beneath me by the way, and I think illegal, so I wouldn't have!) I also called to have the bench warrant served (called the wrong department and they gave me a hard time about how he didn't have a warrant - he did - and how it was really important to get along for the sake of our child. I KNOW THAT!  So the next day I went the the sheriff's office and they served the warrant I think. It seemed to spur some action finally - his girlfriend paid $100 :| Then the child support office called to say that I should stay out of it, that they were handling it and that he will most likely go back to court and they will give him another chance to purge. That's where I'm at now. Now I suppose the only thing to expect is more of the same - nothing unless I demean myself. Argh. | ||||
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| Hi...here's another update. We went back to court. The judge was going to give him another 6 months to purge and I stated that I didn't know if he would pay and I didn't want to keep coming back. He made it so we would be going back in 2 months, on April 12th. So far I STILL haven't received any payment from the NCP - it's been about a month and a half since our last courtdate. Does anyone know what to expect at the next hearing? Thanks! | ||||
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| At the next hearing in April, the judge gave him until June 30th to pay Jan - June's support which adds up to about $1578. I had received $250 the day of court in April and just received another $200 on Friday (though more may not have cleared yet - he states he made another $400 payment) I'm figuring because court is again on Tuesday, for sentencing. I will update on what happens. | ||||
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| What happens when NCP does not pay the purge amount in full? He has purged to about 60% in the last two days. Can anyone tell me what is likely to happen in court tomorrow? I don't think they will give him more time to purge as this is his third chance. He has our son every weekend and I don't want our son's schedule to get messed up if he recieves jail time, but really want the NCP to take child support seriously. Is it possible to ask the judge to put him on probation so that they can review monthly if he is paying on time and in full? My basic question is: What are likely outcomes in situations like this? I can't seem to find any info anywhere else. Also, what happens to the child support that has accrued from 1/08 to the present...does that just add to the arrears amount while someone is completing a purge or should there be more counts of contempt against him because he should have been paying in addition to the purge amount. Any info will help. Thank you! | ||||
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| If he is paying something on a regular basis, even if it's not the full amount, then it's not likely that he go to jail. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if he's in jail then he is able to pay nothing. The agency that collects child support in CA should be doing everything in their power ; garnishing his wages, intercepting his tax refunds, placing liens against his assets, etc. In order to get him to pay up. First and foremost is the child's welfare. Are his basic needs getting met? If so, then the judge shouldn't do anything that could potentially "rock the boat." | ||||
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| He actually isn't paying anything on a regular basis, only right before we go to court. He stopped paying about 6 months after the judgement in May of 06, and since then I have only received support two months from unemployment disregards and twice, when it is only days until court. They can't garnish his wages since he is self employed, can't intercept taxes since he doesn't file, and puts his assets in other peoples names. Even though he is 60% in compliance for this purge amount, he still has accrued about $7,000 in arrears. He only has to pay $213 plus arrears. He also does not do the job search forms either. Our son's basic (and not so basic) needs are being met, but only because I work my butt off, and I would rather starve than see my son go without, and certainly that has been the case in some of the tougher months. | ||||
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