Single parent who needs some suggestions and honestly some help.

Background:

Colorado Location

Deadbeat dad is over $20,000 behind in child support. I have not asked for an adjustment since the orginal order was put in place 7 years ago. Filed contempt 6 years ago because Child Support Enforcement Unit would not (CSE). Sheriff could not find deadbeat to serve and thus contempt was not completed at that time. Contaced congress person and he acted on my behalf and lit a fire under CSE's butt and was able to collect support for about 9 months.

Child support not being received currently and it has been 3 months since last payment.

IRS intercept filed, Drivers license suspended, occupational license suspended, wage garnish issued (although employer is not located at this time). Deadbeat does NOT file Tax Returns.

My son receives SSI payments at this time (autistic). Due to problems at local school district I am now homeschooling him and now his sister (doctor supports and has written letter pertaining to this occuring). He requires 24/7 line of sight supervision and thus I stay at home with him 24/7 and am not employed (thinking that me going to get my college degree was a waste of time and money on my part, that is for sure).

Our only income at this point is SSI. We receive housing assistance and food stamps to make ends meet.

Questions:

1. I would like to obtain information that is related to how much money my ex is making. It is my understanding that he is making between 40-60k a year. THe CSE unit has access to this information but will not of course give this information to me. Is there a way that I can get this information without involving CSE??

2. If I request a modification to the order of child support will the court take into consideration my son's SSI payments and how does that affect the outcome of support ordered.

3. The CSE office at this point knows of his location but of course will not allow me access to it or anyone else for that matter. How can I gain information about my ex's whereabouts??

4. Need suggestions on how to make money at home. Daycare is not an option due to my son's problems (he has violent behaviors from time to time)

Any information you may have would be greatly appreciated.

:badday:

I would petition the court for his information and tell a judge what is going on, maybe that would help (not sure of the legal system there). The only other thing I can think of is if you were able to obtain a lawyer or even a PI.

What College course do you have? If you are good on the computer, sometimes you can go to local company's to see if they need reports, documents, etc written up that you can do at home?

Sorry if none of that helps.

I applied for legal services to see if they could help me out. I was denied and I can't afford a private anything.

Business Administration, I have been searching and searching and am not finding much of anything that allows me to work at home. I know that they are out there but you have to get through all the hoax's to find them, lol.

Thanks for your response

1. I would like to obtain information that is related to how much money my ex is making. It is my understanding that he is making between 40-60k a year. THe CSE unit has access to this information but will not of course give this information to me. Is there a way that I can get this information without involving CSE??

Yes, request a modification through the county or file your own and then both of you will have to disclose income and employer information in an Income and Expense Statement. This is info you are entitled to see through discovery, if necessary. Once filed with the court, it is a public record. But, to get a modification, you generally need to show there has been a significant change in circumstances since the last order was made.

2. If I request a modification to the order of child support will the court take into consideration my son's SSI payments and how does that affect the outcome of support ordered.

No. SSI income is not calculated into the equation because it is need-based income for your boy. That is the way it is in California and should be anywhere in the country.

3. The CSE office at this point knows of his location but of course will not allow me access to it or anyone else for that matter. How can I gain information about my ex's whereabouts??

It is illegal for the agency to disclose that info to you, just as it is illegal for them to disclose your address to him. I may be able to help you find him soon, as I'm purchasing access to Westlaw tomorrow and will be able to find most people through their many databases.

4. Need suggestions on how to make money at home. Daycare is not an option due to my son's problems (he has violent behaviors from time to time)

Hmmm. Use the Internet and think creatively. The world is at your fingertips.

Ronn (Child Support Attorney)

No suggestions on anything but the work from home. It's not what you are going to school for, but I know lots of people who do medical billing/coding from home, and make a pretty good amount doing it. You can take online courses, then apply for jobs. A lot of times, in the back of parenting magazines, there are lists of jobs for Moms to do from home.

Good luck!

Make sure the Child Support Enforcement Agency has filed an Abstract of Judgment in any county he lives or may own property. Also, file an OSC requesting the court order the Agency to release the father's home address for purpose of service only. In your Declaration explain to the court that you must have him served to modify the order or to file a civil contempt and that the Court can order the address released once it determines there is no history or risk of domestic violence if the address is released. I've done this before and the court will generally order it released. Until then, the Agency cannot release it (it's a misdemeanor). Also, have them pull his credit report to see if he has balances with other creditors that he is paying. If so, he is willful in his failure to pay CS and will be liable in a contempt action.

Ronn,

With your professional knowledge, I have a distinct feeling that you will be kept busy posting replies on here! LOL

If you are willing to give me some guidance I could really use it.

I won't take offense if you tell me that you prefer not to be asked questions because I know that can be taxing when you are probably coming on here for support and relaxation yourself.

My situation is below but I honestly don't want you to be obligated to reply.

I live in Rhode Island. My daughter is now a little over 3 years old and has never seen her father. It's an old story...but basically he denied the baby was his (even though he was fully aware that I had not been in any relationship of any kind for 2 years) because he knew that I would explode and tell him to get out of our lives. He took the excuse and ran.

I have never pursued child support because he is the type of person that if he is being forced to pay money for something, he would purposely make my life as miserable as he could. I had concerns for her safety as an infant that would be in his care if he was granted visitation. Not so much for physical abuse but basic safety concerns. He relies on sleeping pills every night and I was concerned that he would not be able to wake up if there was an emergency or even to attend to diapers and feedings. For example: Once when we went on a day trip together he fell asleep at the wheel because he was still under the influence of the pills. I caught the wheel just in time and made him pull over so I could drive.

Now my daughter is 3 years old and very capable of being able to tell me if something has bothered her. Because of this, I have been considering pursuing child support at this time because I simply need the money to survive.

He doesn't have a very stable work background so I have no idea if he is working and if he is I have no idea how to begin the process of finding out.

I want to do my research first because if he is only working at a job where I will receive very little child support for the can of worms it will open, then I would never pursue it. He would put my daughter in the middle of a very ugly tug-of-war just for spite.

Do you have any ideas on how I could possibly locate him and find out where he is employed without having to pay a P.I.? I have his SS#.

If I did pursue support.... what type of chance will he have at getting unsupervised visitations or worse...custody? His dad would shell out money for the lawyer just because.

More important than the money is protecting my daughter from a harmful situation - either physically or mentally so if you think that I am better off just leaving things alone I am ready to accept that too.

Any guidance would be gratefully appreciated because I am so confused and don't have a clue how to get the answers I need.

Thank you!

Deb

Awe, what a cutie. You would have to post her pic, wouldn't you. Just so you know, you couldn't be more wrong. I'm here to help people, not for support. I'm married to a wonderful woman and have no children. I'm here to give people hope and offer my knowledge and experience for the benefit of children and their loving mothers (or fathers). First, the odds of him getting primary custody are slim to none. Particularly if her current environment is stable, safe and loving. The courts always favor staus-quo and avoid dramatic changes when possible. Second, he has a right to visit his daughter, unless and until you show the court he is a danger to her. Then, you must argue supervised visitation (or none at all) unless and until he seeks help or remdies the problem that poses the danger to the child. You must know how to introduce this evidence in court, which can be tricky. I will try to help you along the way if it goes that far. As far as finding him without a PI. Well, you can hire the local child support enforcement agency and they have a locate system. In CA it's free. However, they won't tell you where he is (by law) unless you get the court to order the release of his address for purpose of serving him with your own motion. Did I answer all your questions? If I missed anything, email me. If you need me to represent you, I may be able to do that in a limited capacity from California. We'll talk more about that later. Ronn (Child Support Attorney)

Ronn, I think that it is GREAT that you are here to help!! God bless you and yours!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mashell:
[QB] Ronn, I think that it is GREAT that you are here to help!! God bless you and yours!

Thx.

why do the single moms always apply for child support??? you should be applying for termination of parental rights. don't you want whoever you eventually marry to be able to adopt? The money truly isn't worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by frankie atl 27:
[qb] why do the single moms always apply for child support??? you should be applying for termination of parental rights. don't you want whoever you eventually marry to be able to adopt? The money truly isn't worth it. [/qb]

Frankie, that was a bit of an oversimplification. Terminating parental rights raises constitutional issues. It's not like firing the gardener. You cannot generally terminate the parental rights of the other parent unless and until he/she agrees and an adoption is in place. If you terminate parental rights, you also terminate the child's right to support from that parent and any inheritance rights, as well. Frustration or failure to collect does not always mean you will never collect, either (particularly if you hire me).

Lastly, it may be easy for you to say the money is not worth it. Maybe you are getting paid, maybe you have a good paying job, or maybe you're willing to struggle financially to keep the father out of your child's life. However, there are a lot of good single parents who need the monetary support desperately, and the father is not necessarily a danger, although a poor father. And, single parents should not spend 18 years struggling financially because the father is a bone-head. He probably won't be a good dad either way, so why not get paid support anyway.

Ronn, I think it is so great that you are here to offer help and from the help I have seen you offer on here already, looks to be tremendous. Glad there are caring people like you out there.

So Ronn, I've got a question for you. You seem to be a life saver here! Not sure how much you know about the MN child support system but here is my situation. I'm a single mother of a 3 year old little girl. My daughters father claims to be an "independent contractor" aka, he sells perfume in parking lots, and he owes over 23,800.00 in child support as of today. He has made one payment in total for support in the beginning when they threatened to take his liscence, however, nothing paid since then. He moved out of MN a little over a year ago now. He lives in and out of motel rooms so he doesn't have a home address, thus, the child support case isn't getting handed over to whatever state he happens to be in at the time. He has pretty much all of the actions filed against him that can be as of now. Contempt has been filed against him, but because he isn't able to get served with the papers, the child support office told me that, if he keeps playing the system the way he is, he will basically get away with it forever. Would this be a situation where I could file to have his rights terminated? Or isn't it even worth it at this point? I'm just so sick of all the papers coming from the child support office; your support is going up this year, a new court date was added, the court date was cancelled, ect....He isn't involved in her life, obviously, and she doesn't know him so thats why I'm looking at that as an option. I do relize that if he signs over his rights he wouldn't have to pay any of that money that he currently owes, which is fine. Any advice???

Netsurfr: Thank you! Your daughter is a cutie. I know she is your inspiration.