A back child support case (child passed away in 2003) but I was in prison for 10 years and support racked up. The Judge in the county seems prejudiced, can I change jurisdiction? He does not seem to understand there are NO children going without because I cannot pay the whole amount every month. Keeps throwing me in jail. Ex wife got $100 thousand wrongful death money, 1/2 was mine, I said give it to her take it off child support. They gave it to her, nobody took it off child support, now they say I owe $45 thousand back support. I had an attorney, paid her $2500. She made Judge mad talking about "Statute of Limitations" all the time. She did nothing for me. I cannot afford another attorney. I want to change the county my court is in. The county it is in now I have a history in. It's the county I did 10 years in prison from. (Different Judge, though).

Thanks for ANY advice!!

PS--I asked Ex to please forgive debt, she says NO. 1/2 of what I owe goes to the state where she collected food stamps, ADC, etc. I forgot, I live in Missouri too, in case that makes a difference.

A back child support case (child passed away in 2003) but I was in prison for 10 years and support racked up. The Judge in the county seems prejudiced, can I change jurisdiction? He does not seem to understand there are NO children going without because I cannot pay the whole amount every month. Keeps throwing me in jail. Ex wife got $100 thousand wrongful death money, 1/2 was mine, I said give it to her take it off child support. They gave it to her, nobody took it off child support, now they say I owe $45 thousand back support. I had an attorney, paid her $2500. She made Judge mad talking about "Statute of Limitations" all the time. She did nothing for me. I cannot afford another attorney. I want to change the county my court is in. The county it is in now I have a history in. It's the county I did 10 years in prison from. (Different Judge, though).

Thanks for ANY advice!!!

Few different issues here: a change of venue won't make a difference in regards to your criminal history. The whole state will be able to see what you've gone to jail for.

In regards to the wrongful death settlement money, I have a few questions. A)Who told you you were entitled to half of it? B)Who told you that you could write off your child support if you allowed the mother to keep all of it? C)What did you sign in order to allow the mother to keep 100% of the money?

You state that there is no child "going without" just because you're not paying - that's not the point. Years ago, there was a child "going without" and because of that, the state was providing assistance for that child. That's why you can't just get the money relieved.

What are your current payments set at? How much are you paying a month?

The Insurance company said 1/2 was mine, I don't care who knows I went to prison, it had NOTHING to do with the child or support, The lawyers from the insurance company said that I could specify that since it was mine and I gave it to her, it could be taken off child support, and they did not have me sign anything. I am not saying I do not want to pay it, I want to move it to the county I live in because the county it is in now is the one I went to prison from and it is the "good ole boys" network, and there is prejudice.

Payments are $469.00 per month. I have been paying between $250 and $300 depending on work.

The Insurance company said 1/2 was mine, I don't care who knows I went to prison, it had NOTHING to do with the child or support, The lawyers from the insurance company said that I could specify that since it was mine and I gave it to her, it could be taken off child support, and they did not have me sign anything. I am not saying I do not want to pay it, I want to move it to the county I live in because the county it is in now is the one I went to prison from and it is the "good ole boys" network, and there is prejudice.

I only brought up your prison sentence because you did. You stated that you wanted a change of venue because the judge is allegedly prejudiced and that you had been sentenced in that county. I wanted to clarify that your prison time has nothing to do with back child support.

If they didn't have you sign anything in order to authorize $50,000 to be given to someone other than yourself, then it wasn't yours to begin with. That's not how it works.

Clearly, at $45,000 in back support, you were behind in payments long before the child passed away. Support stops when the child is deceased. You stated that you were in prison for 10 years, which puts your conviction somewhere between 1999 and 2000. The child passed away in 2003 so while it's possible, it's not likely that you were paying $15,000 a year in child support in order to be this far behind.

You keep claiming that there is prejudice: what are your grounds for this claim? Why do you think the judge is prejudiced against you and you alone?

I went to prison in 1995, after being in county for 1 year, which also put me behind. So there is 8 years that child support was not paid while I was in prison. I think there is prejudice because I have asked that the payments be reduced since I no longer make the money I used to make, he denied it, I asked that I be allowed to challenge the amount, he denied it, yet I personally know others who owe more than I do, but he does not put them in jail every other month. No, I signed nothing, they did not ask me to, if that is not how it works, then why did the Insurance company contact me and state that legally 1/2 of the wrongful death money was mine? I never filed for it, I knew nothing about it until they contacted me. But, I know that my EX filed it in her name and mine. (Although she never even asked me about it). I am not trying to get out of anything, I just want to quit going to jail every other month.

I went to prison in 1995, after being in county for 1 year, which also put me behind. So there is 8 years that child support was not paid while I was in prison. I think there is prejudice because I have asked that the payments be reduced since I no longer make the money I used to make, he denied it, I asked that I be allowed to challenge the amount, he denied it, yet I personally know others who owe more than I do, but he does not put them in jail every other month. No, I signed nothing, they did not ask me to, if that is not how it works, then why did the Insurance company contact me and state that legally 1/2 of the wrongful death money was mine? I never filed for it, I knew nothing about it until they contacted me. But, I know that my EX filed it in her name and mine. (Although she never even asked me about it). I am not trying to get out of anything, I just want to quit going to jail every other month.

What did your attorney have to say about this $50,000 that just went missing and is apparently not being accounted for? If you were going to receive that much money, why didn't you just collect it and pay off what you owed her and keep the rest? If the claim was filed jointly, you would have been REQUIRED to sign some type of paperwork... unless she forged your name.

Just because someone owes more than you doesn't mean the circumstances are the same.

You still haven't explained why you think the judge is prejudiced.

I already explained the attorney I had did nothing except go on and on about Statute of Limitations and that they could not come after me, etc. Well, they did, she was wrong, and she made the Judge mad. Why do I think he is prejudiced? How about the fact that the last time I saw him, no one was in the room except me, him and a baliff. He did not even turn on the lights, and every other word out of his mouth started with an F. And, it was not friendly, either. That man cussed me like a dog. Of course, how can I prove it? I can't. The $50,000 did not "GO MISSING". Even my ex admits she got it. I did not collect it because in Missouri, if ypou are in prison, and have over $1200.00on your books (I think, it might be 1000.00) the state makes you pay room and board. I wouldn't have been able to give it to her, they would have gotten it. And she was raising him without financial support from me, so I figured she deserved it. The ONLY reason she started pursuing this back support now was because she is mad over my remarriage and has told me this. I just want to know if I can change the county or not. Neither one of us live in that county anymore.

I already explained the attorney I had did nothing except go on and on about Statute of Limitations and that they could not come after me, etc. Well, they did, she was wrong, and she made the Judge mad. Why do I think he is prejudiced? How about the fact that the last time i saw him, no one was in the room except me, him and a baliff. He did not even turn on the lights, and every other word out of his mouth started with an F. And, it was not friendly, either. That man cussed me like a dog. Of course, how can I prove it? I can't. The $50,000 did not "GO MISSING". Even my ex admits she got it. I did not collect it because in Missouri, if ypou are in prison, and have over $1200.00on your books (I think, it might be 1000.00) the state makes you pay room and board. I wouldn't have been able to give it to her, they would have gotten it. And she was raising him without financial support from me, so I figured she deserved it. The ONLY reason she started pursuing this back support now was because she is mad over my remarriage and has told me this. I just want to know if I can change the county or not. Neither one of us live in that county anymore.

You can file for a venue change but that doesn't mean you'll get it.

As for the judge cursing you out, I'm quite surprised by this because anyone with half a brain knows that the courtrooms are now equipped with audio recording equipment and possible video equipment as well. I'm surprised a judge would be willing to sacrifice his reputation and possibly his job by doing something so foolish. And the judge doesn't turn on the lights - that's not part of his job. If they were out, that was somebody else's problem.

The $50k did go missing if the two of you agreed that it would be paid towards child support and it did not.

The attorney you hired is a moron if she was trying to use SOL for child support. I'm not an attorney and I know that's not an argument.

MOST courtrooms are equipped BUT in a town of 1300 which is the county seat, it is not. And yes, she is a moron. (The lawyer) I never said she did not get the money. She did. She just DID NOT tell child support that she got it and that I wanted it applied to the child support. I never said HE should have turned on the lights. I simply stated they were not on. Evidently, you do not know anything abpout little podunk Missouri towns or how the law in them works. {insults removed-<>}

MOST courtrooms are equipped BUT in a town of 1300 which is the county seat, it is not. And yes, she is a moron. (The lawyer) I never said she did not get the money. She did. She just DID NOT tell child support that she got it and that I wanted it applied to the child support. I never said HE should have turned on the lights. I simply stated they were not on. Evidently, you do not know anything abpout little podunk Missouri towns or how the law in them works. Maybe you should read up on it before trying to offer advice on something you know NOTHING about.

For one thing This8384 is a respected member here. SO please don't start. Another thing is that in order to solve this there is information required by you. How about a timeline of some sort? Is your state charging you interest on the amount owed? How much of the payment that you are suppose to make going to your ex and how much to the state? Do you have the letter from the insurance company stating that 1/2 of the settlement is yours? From there you can build a case. It also may be able to lead to other solutions. But disrepecting valued mambers isn't going to get you anywhere. Your situation is hard enough to figure out because of prevailing law.

MOST courtrooms are equipped BUT in a town of 1300 which is the county seat, it is not. And yes, she is a moron. (The lawyer) I never said she did not get the money. She did. She just DID NOT tell child support that she got it and that I wanted it applied to the child support. I never said HE should have turned on the lights. I simply stated they were not on. Evidently, you do not know anything abpout little podunk Missouri towns or how the law in them works. {insults removed-<>}

I live in my county seat. They have audio and video surveillance in our courtrooms. Don't talk to me about "podunk" towns when you don't know who I am or where I'm from.

If she got the money and your name was on it, then she either forged your name on the paperwork or on the check - either of which is illegal.

Don't start trying to dictate who can and can't answer your question. Maybe if you had kept your pants on and stayed out of trouble, you wouldn't have all of these problems to begin with. I'm trying to help you because you're arguing ridiculous things such as "the judge didn't turn the lights on" which has absolutely no bearing on ANYTHING whatsoever.

You wasted $2,500 on an attorney who is an imbecile instead of paying that money towards back child support. Who's the smart one again?

And maybe you should check laws in your area. I know my state specifically sends out a letter from child support reading that any money which doesn't go through child support will not be counted as child support. So you, my convict friend, may have just wasted $50,000.

Ok,
1. no I doubt you can change jurisdiction, you will have to show that the court has a interest against you, not just not like their rulings.

2. insurance, you screwed up, if you wanted 1/2 of a wrongful death settlement to apply to child support you should have taken the money and then wrote her a check or paid it to the court. At this point, if she cashed and keep the entire check and you were really suppose to get 1/2, whose name is on the check, yours and hers, or just hers. But if you were to get 1/2, sue her in civil court ( not family) for your 1/2 of the money, when you win it, you can then pay her child support to the court. So if you were really suppose to get 1/2, sue for it, That check has nothing to do with your owing child support, since you never paid the money to the court, her getting a check from an insurance company proves nothing to child support court.

3. SOL, in some cases, if there were no collection activities for a number of years, some courts have voided really old support, but it does not happen in most areas. I would assume you really had no good case and your attorney did what they could, Remember if you have no case, really owe the money and did not pay, an attorney can't do much.

Even if the court does not have video recording ( some don't) there is a court recorder who writes down everything that is said in court.

But actually if you acted in court, like you are writing here, I actually believe it,
1. you did not pay support when you should
2. you have a criminal and prison record
3. you give them a story of 50,000 dollars that you needed to actually get and write a check and did not, and when you did not, you still did not sue her in civil court for your share of the money

5 You tried to convince the court that you just did not owe alll the money, did not ( from what it sounds) present a plan on what you could pay.

So on a bad day, an judge saw you as a dead beat dad who did not pay chlid support, and now after the child is dead, still does not want to pay past support. So yes, I know several family court judges who would have some strong words for you.

Well, inn some casses, I would say you were right. HOWEVER--until I went to prison, I was not behind at all and I had my sone every weekend and kept insurance on him even though that was not part of the arrangement back when we got divorced. It is not that I do not want to pay the support--if they say I owe, then I owe. I know that if I have no proof she received the money and that I had asked them to apply it to the child support, then I am screwed on that issue, too. What I want to know is what do I need to do to change jurisdiction, and I would like to have the amount reduced because I simply cannot afford to pay $469 anymore. I do not make the same money I did when the order was issued. Yes, there usually is a court recorder in the room, you are right. But the last time I saw him there was not. The Judge, the baliff and me. Period. I never got a chance to bring up the $50,000, and being incarcerated, there was NO way I could have gotten the money, wrote her a check or sent it through child support enforcement. I wish now that I had of done that, but I guess I was not thinking. I asked the Judge twice now to drop the amount to $275 per month, he says no. Even though she has done some things that were not right, I am having a hard time taking her to court. I know our son's death was painful and she tried to commit suicide afterwards. I hate to bring that up, but it looks like I am going to have to. And, for the record, I do have her on tape saying that she received the money, thanking me for it, and saying that she did not tell child support that I had given her what the insurance company said was mine. I never wanted it anyway, it would not bring him back. Thank you all for your advice, maybe I did not tell the story in a timeline fashion, but I am not, nor was I a typical "deadbeat" Dad. Yes, I do have a criminal record. Yes, I screwed up and I MADE IT WHERE I WENT TO PRISON, NO ONE ELSE. Which, put me in this position. Thanks again.

Time to close. OP wants to argue with everyone over everything.

He could pay for and keep insurance on his child while in prison, but couldn't make out a check in order to pay off his child support arrears? Ridiculous doesn't even begin to touch it.

And on top of it, he's going to exploit his ex's depression and suicide attempt because he foolishly thinks that will somehow affect his situation. What a joke.