Child Support, Contempt of Court, and (Maybe) Lawyers

This week, the US Supreme Court handed down a decision in Turner v. Rogers, a case involving a non-custodial parent who was jailed for nonpayment of child support.  Failure to pay child support is a violation of a court order to pay, and is thus handled as a civil contempt of court case.  A finding of civil contempt in these cases is predicated on nonpayment when the defendant is financially capable of paying, and a defendant can always avoid jail time by either paying the amount owed, or by showing that he is incapable of paying.  Turner had been ordered to pay $51.73 per week for the support of his child and had been sentenced to jail time on several previous occasions for failure to pay.  He was not represented by counsel at the hearing where he received a 12-month sentence, which he served in its entirety.  At the hearing in question, the judge sentenced Turner without making an express finding that Turner was financially capable of paying the support owed.  On appeal, Turner argued that the US Constitution entitled him to counsel at his hearing because, although the contempt proceeding is civil in nature, the potential for incarceration triggered a Due Process Clause-based right to be represented.  Although Supreme Court cases have consistently found that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in criminal cases does not apply to civil cases (not even civil contempt cases), there was a split in the circuits over whether a defendant has a right to counsel under the Due Process clause in civil contempt proceedings enforcing child support orders.

Here, the Court held that “where as here the custodial parent (entitled to receive the support) is unrepresented by counsel, the State need not provide counsel to the noncustodial parent (required to provide the support).”  However, the Court added the caveat that “the State must nonetheless have in place alternative procedures that assure a fundamentally fair determination of the critical incarceration-related question, whether the supporting parent is able to comply with the support order.”  Since Turner did not receive clear notice that his ability to pay – or not – was crucial in deciding whether he would be jailed, and since the court did not make an express finding that Turner was able to pay, his incarceration was found to have violated the Due Process Clause, and his case was remanded.  The dissent agreed that there should be no right to counsel in civil contempt cases for nonpayment of child support, but would not have vacated the state court judgment on the grounds that there were not sufficient procedural safeguards to protect Turner.

My colleagues who specialize in constitutional law, criminal law and sentencing will doubtless have other insights about this case.  Here, I would like to offer just a few observations from a family law perspective.

Turner’s situation is sadly familiar.  He is a person with apparently few financial resources who is also, according to his own account before the family court, a recovering drug addict.  He was ordered to pay $51.73 per week in child support beginning in June 2003, and over the next 3 years he was held in contempt five times for failure to pay.  He was sentenced to a 90-day jail term each of the first four times he was held in contempt, but on each occasion he came up with the money either before he had to serve any time, or after a couple of days in custody.  The fifth time, he actually served an entire six-month term in jail.  He remained in arrears, was ordered to “show cause,” failed to show up for his hearing, and ultimately was held in contempt and sentenced to 12 months in the proceeding being contested in the instant SCOTUS case.

What is a judge to do with such a guy?  On the one hand, it seems like a no-brainer that a drug addict presumably without steady employment is not able to pay his child support, and incarcerating someone for being unable to pay his bills seems like a throwback to the debtors’ prisons of Charles Dickens’ England.  On the other hand, notice that Turner – like countless others in his situation – magically came up with the money owed for support the first four times he was sentenced to jail time.  This phenomenon is commonplace.  Not every person who is in arrears is dishonest, but the truth of each situation is not easy to ascertain.  After all, the parents usually seem to be supporting themselves at least to some degree, even while they claim destitution with respect to their children’s needs.  As Justice Thomas discusses in his dissent, child support orders are notoriously difficult to enforce, and parents who owe (nearly always fathers at this point in history) may engage in all sorts of subterfuge to avoid payment, for example, working “off the books” for cash, or working in illegal occupations.  This is a huge social problem in this country.

According to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, there have been more than 11,000,000 child support cases with arrears due for each of the past five consecutive fiscal years.  Each of those cases represents a custodial parent forced to shoulder the support of a child – or children – without sufficient financial help from the other parent.  Part of the problem is that many a non-custodial parent may view support payments as excessive, or as going to an ex, rather than to the children, and a father may rationalize that the mother will squander the money on herself.  Other reluctant payers don’t think through the math – does any sane person really think that a child can be adequately supported on $51.73 per week, or that even a dishonest mother could somehow live in luxury on that amount?  I can certainly understand the impatience of a family court judge who, tired of the same old excuses, tosses a non-payer in jail without further ado.

Ultimately, I do not think that Turner v. Rogers will change family court civil contempt proceedings all that much.  The non-payers will not have court-appointed lawyers, but they will be specifically asked whether they can pay.  After hearing the usual excuses, and perhaps requiring some sort of proof, the judge will doubtless often still find that the defendant can pay and is in contempt for not doing so.   The forms will be filled out completely.  The deadbeats will go to jail, and then many of them will find, beg or borrow the money to pay, and they will be released from incarceration, only – in many cases – to repeat the cycle.

If only the Supreme Court – or anybody – could change the cycle.  That would really be something.

This Post Has 31 Comments

  1. David Papke

    The “cycle” is usually grounded in poverty. American poor often lack financial sophistication, cultural capital, and the bourgeois commitment to child-rearing within the nuclear family. However, American poor are not necessarily penniless.

  2. John Salamon

    I think the whole idea of child support is a farce. The government doesn’t tell us how much of our income we must spend while we are in a relationship or marriage, so why do they when we are out of one? Most people will contribute to the child welfare and material needs regardless. The government is just encouraging conflict and alienating one parent by meddling in a person’s private life and providing one party a degree of corruptive power over the other.

    1. Ginger Roberts

      I completely agree with you on this John. I also believe that post-secondary support should not be court-ordered for parents of children who are divorced. The courts do not mandate married couples to pay for their children’s colleges, so why should they enforce divorced couples with children to pay. After the age of 18 you are an adult and I truly believe if parents can AFFORD to help their children that is a great opportunity and if they cannot (married or divorced) adults 18 years of age or older should find their own path. (Scholarships, workstudy, work, loans.)

    2. Darlene A Jesion

      Child support is for the children you helped create. For whatever reason you are no longer a part of their every day life but still responsible just the same. It completely baffles me how so many can walk away from this responsibility with no remorse at all. Do you understand it is your child who is suffering because of YOUR refusal to pay YOUR CHILD SUPPORT !

      1. Kimberly A Johnson

        Please tell me something? I agree that children needed to be provided for in both a united family and a separated family and that should be until they turn 18 why is it that the courts can say til they are 25. At 18 they can vote, at 18 they can join the military, at 18 they can smoke cigarettes, and at 18 they are considered adults by every other agency except the DOR/CSE and the courts please tell me when do we teach our kids to stop relying on others and start living for themselves. I know of a case right now that the children are well over 18 and not working, going to school part time and yet their dad has got to go to court to ask for a termination because he has been unemployed and supplies everything else that they need other than the house and food. But now he is being charged with contempt of court for back due child support, because it was the decision to keep doing what he does for his boys or pay child support, because unemployed he could not do both. So when do we make these kids grow up? Why does the government allow them to be entitled kids? We were taught as kids if we wanted it, then we had to earn it. What happened? It clearly is not that way anymore. Something has to change because if we continue to teach entitlement then our futures are dim. Just saying!! Funny my two teen daughters both make their own money and have told me that it is no longer my job to do everything for them, that they’re old enough now to do for themselves and that is what it is going to be. Now that is how kids should be these days, willing to work for what they want.

      2. Russell Penn

        I think child support serves a good purpose in the right circumstances, like a struggling mother with 2 or 3 kids left to do it alone by a man that’s well off but refuses to take responsibility and won’t help her at all. Then OK, yeah, jump in there and rattle the guy’s cage a little with some enforcement or whatever becomes of it. Not making a mom sign an agreement at the welfare department that if she receives aid she has to go after the father to pay it back by order of family court, when it’s obviously a one-sided ordeal.

        Because suddenly after the little bit of progress the father has made after letting her have every last thing including custody and is attempting to put himself back together and hasn’t missed a day not seeing his kids being that they stay with both parents 50/50 and live a block apart, but now without a chance to recover from divorce, suddenly there’s a summons to go to court 60 miles away and jump through the system’s hoops. Which proves to be to much and he ends up missing court dates due to no transportation and everything builds up. Pretty soon there’s 3 charges of contempt, a warrant, and much more. Through this whole thing his ex-wife is dandy, remarried, new car, new place, a rather large settlement, her and her new husband and their daughter all collecting from a fender-bender sort of thing. But yet the father is at rock bottom. All hope lost and can’t be restored like the man’s life.

        The court and the people seem to forget there’s a real human that was a great father and loves his kids so much that he never put up a fight just gave custody figuring his kids would be in better hands along with the house, income tax return, the S.U.V., everything, thinking how to best help for the kids’ sake. Why is this father being treated like a criminal or deadbeat dad or a piece of trash suddenly without anybody ever asking him what’s going on in his world or doing an investigation of his situation to really determine what needs to happen, who is who, and all that stuff? You only find it in the movies I guess. Now the almighty perfect life-saving child support Nazis destroyed a good man with no regard at all. I’m just a nothing, a low-life on my way to jail for nothing, no crimes committed, and when I finally get released it starts all over, right? Or do you believe a man really deserves this simply because he’s a father? Because that’s how it seems to work. The judge hates me like she’d love to take me down, and is. Not fair. I could rob a bank and get treated ten times better but that’s actually committing a crime. What the hell is up with that? Fathers commit suicide over this b.s. Why is this allowed to happen? What would you do in my situation?

      3. Alicia Tedeschi

        Darlene, you are completely wrong. I’m a mother of three, the father and I can’t support the three children we have because the one child he had when he was a teenager, the mother refuses to get a real job and she takes us for every penny we have. We literally live off of half an income because I can’t work right now due to the child I just had. The courts are not even willing to accept the legitimate child that he just had to include into the child support payments. We get regular phone calls from neighbors and concerned parents that the other child is wandering the streets at 9 at night looking for food, and has no clothes or shoes. We got a call from a mother who had to go buy him shoes because his shoes had such bad holes. Between the Social Security, that child support, and the bartending money that they don’t include, this woman brings in over $4,000 a month with barely even working 20 hours a week. My husband works 60 to 80 hours a week and we can’t even barely feed ourselves, we are literally starving and about to go homeless because they want to take half his check for child support. Please tell me how that one mother getting child support of $900 a month out of a family that only brings in $3,000 a month is justified for the one child that he had. We raised a thirteen-year-old, a ten-year-old, and now an infant, so we are all suffering for that one child. So please tell me what is the justification in that? How was that mother in the state of Iowa sleeping at night while they are putting a family of five on the street for a family of 2. All these laws are archaic from back when women were not able to work. Women are fully capable of working and making more money than men. I worked in the mortgage industry where I saw it every day, yet fathers are continually punished every day. Please tell me how this is justified. He is a great father and this kid would benefit greatly for having his father in his life, but the child support is sucking us dry so bad we can’t even set up a visitation day because we can’t afford to get there.

    3. eric smith

      That’s so true.

    4. Virginia Finn

      When a party is “out of a relationship” and does not support the custodial parent, the onus of child support falls on the State. Hence, the State wants the money back. The taxpayers are not responsible for the support of a “dead beat” parent. It is doubtful that “most people” contribute to the child welfare & material needs regardless.

  3. Jessica

    I wish enforcement would be stepped up in my case. I read all about the penalties of not paying child support yet my 2 children’s father has received nothing but a slap on the wrist. He works for cash “under the table” and doesn’t do his taxes. He lied to the judge, stating he didn’t have a job when under oath at a show cause hearing, and when I corrected his statement, let the judge know that he was working. The judge asked if it was true, and he admitted it was, but there was no penalty. He has been to 7 show cause hearings. The first 5 he was required to pay 10 percent of what was owed and took 1 year to pay it each time, with no consequences. And the last hearings he was required to pay 5 percent. He doesn’t pay any child support unless forced by a show cause order, and when I do ask him for help because I need help providing school clothes or other needs, I get a degrading comment. Yet nothing comes of his repeated contempt of court. He is only required to pay $190 a month on 2 children. That isn’t a quarter of what it costs to support my children. Yet I carry the burden on my own. There needs to be something done with these dead beat fathers.

    1. Dave Harris

      Totally agree John, Child support is a business conducting the business of corruption, fraud, extortion and overall erotion of the family structure. And none of the family is exempt from it!

  4. Elizabeth Crosson

    I have been trying to receive my COURT ORDERED CHILD SUPPORT, and have been forced to give up. The Judge has demanded that my Ex husband pay, but he refuses. His employer is also supposedly required by law to deduct it from his paycheck, but has not. I have gone to court several times for this reason, hired a lawyer and wasted $2400.00 that i barrowed from my family, only to receive nothing. I have filed the Income Deduction Order several times, and still receive nothing. After the third time, the Judge finally suspended his Drivers License, but I still have not received any support. I resent laying out money that should be used to raise my son, for nothing. I wish the Judge would just admit he will do nothing to help me. My son is frustrated as well. I am owed over $10,000.00 and refuse to pay the IRS their fee to supposedly collect this money for me. NOT PAYING CHILD SUPPORT IS OBVIOUSLY PERFECTLY LEGAL. Quite frankly, the Court does not care at all about enforcing their own orders. Luckily I believe in Karma, as this is a hopeless situation. Thank you American Justice System, for allowing me to continue to be abused by my childs father, and for showing my 16 year old son that America is an embarressment.

    1. Amanda G.

      My situation is painfully similar.

  5. Linda Lavan

    In this day and time, men find out they are not the father so many times after the fact. I think that all unmarried men should be given an automatic perternity test when there is court-ordered child support.

  6. Tami Gabel

    To Linda, I do not know of a case of an unmarried couple where the father and/or state did not demand a paternity; therefore, they do determine parentage. And John, the whole concept of child support a farce? Really? Too bad we have had to make laws to force fathers and mothers, too, to support their own children. It is sad how many do not. When this happens, all of us pay. Too many single mothers are on welfare, which is in the billions and if the fathers would step up and support their children, we would not have to. CSE needs to enforce stricter laws on the non-custodial parents. It is absolutely ridiculous. The noncustodial parents know nothing is really going to be done about it which is why so many get away with it. Until they start making fathers support their children, well, we are supporting not only our children but theirs as well.

  7. Tim Shepard

    I love the reasoning in this article. Incarcerating someone for being unable to pay his debts is a throwback… But somehow people magically come up with the money. So I guess if we started incarcerating people for other civil debt, such as credit cards, we would find they would magically pay their debts also. Did it ever occur to you that some kind soul is sacrificing to save a poor indigent from debtors prison?

  8. Tim Shepard

    The simple fact is that child support is extortion, plain and simple. Designed to destroy the father’s influence on the family. Until child support is repealed as a punishment for men who mistakenly thought they were allowed to be parents in our perverted feminist society, there can be no system of justice, just a sham.

  9. Bura Marshall

    I would like to say that the maintainance and overall wellbeing of children is the responsibility of both the parents and the society in which they live. I say this because the children are the future of that nation and not just their parents. “Individuals die, but the people live on” and the only way they can is through the development of the children of that community, state, or nation.
    With that being said I know for a fact that every non-custodial parent who is not paying is not a dead beat. As a matter of fact this should only be determined in the event that the community, state, or nation in which the parent lives ensure that all who want to work have a job. If that parent then refuses to work, we can at that time know that they are not trying to accept responsibility for their child(ren). But if we are saying to them you are on your own and they cannot find work, we are in effect saying the maintainance of our children can only be achieved if we blame the non-custodial parent for their lack of income. We must for the overall benefit of our children develop a job placement program that will provide jobs to all those parents who say they want to take care of their children but cannot find work. This must be done before any enforcement actions are taken. I know because I am one of those parents who has fallen behind due to losing my job. I have been looking for a job and have not been able to find one and on three occassions I was offered a job but could not start because they all required a valid drivers license, which I do not have because of one of the enforcment actions taken against me (driver license suspension). I’m not one of those parents who sat around doing nothing. While looking for work I went back to school and earned a B.S. degree in Finance and Economics, graduating in the top 1% of my class earning the distinction of summa cum laude. All I need now is to get my foot in the door somewhere and start being a better provider than I was before I lost my job. I say the problem is with both the parents who do not want to accept responsibility and with society as a whole who also do not want to accept responsibility for our families and our children.

  10. armetta mcglothen

    I hear all these horror stories about how bad it is for non-custodial parents and how they shouldn’t have to pay child support. Well, I am raising a son, and I also have raised 2 adult daughters on my own. It takes money, love, discipline and a place to raise them in, called a home. There are 2 consequences from having unprotected sex–catching a disease and pregnancy. It takes two people to bring a baby into this world, so it takes two people to raise the child, and if one parent has to go to the system to request financial help, so be it, it is what it is.

  11. Patti Vunck

    I wish that everyone was honest as some of the replies suggest. Fathers who cannot find jobs, recovering drug addicts, all who manage to eat, have a roof over their head, maybe drink, smoke, go out for an occational meal and possibly still support a drug habit. My daughter’s husband refussed to complete all the papers so the divorce can proceed. He worked for his family who has a very lucrative business and are very wealthy. He quit his job and claims he can’t find work. He cashed out a $100,000 401K. He gave the money to his Dad and claims that he has to pay them $500 a month rent. These people do not need the money. My daughter is on government support and we help as much as we can, but we do not have the money and raised our own family. We were looking forward to retirement, but that has been put on hold. Is there anyone out there who thinks this is OK. I would love to hear the statics on how many people can actually truly afford to help with child support and how many are trying to beat the system. Everyone seems the think that the custodial parent suffers, but actually it is the children who suffer.

  12. Jay Stevens

    Truth: Child support is a farse. the federal government pays the state anually for assistance to those who are in need. The state then decides on how to use that money for themselves, and since they are very good at wasting money, they decide they want to get the money back from dads. Child support is handled by the Child Support Services division of Health and Human Services department of the state. It is governed by Social Security Act Title IV-D. This basically says child support is a contract. The non custodial parent (usually dad) must either agree verbally or in writing to pay support. Thus, sealing a civil contract of debt/ a bill or obligation. If you verbally or in writing agree to that civil contract, then CSS on behalf of the custodial parent (usually mom) can go after you. Now, what if one doesnt agree to the contract? How is it lawful to punish the dad for a debt, without a contract?? its like getting a bill for something you didnt sign up for yet you can be jailed for not paying. how is that lawful??

  13. dave miller

    @armetta- yes, it does take 2 people to raise a child. Yet, fathers are forced to be “every other weekend visitors” the vast majority of the time. The system is broken, terribly broken! Honestly, I believe it’s a conspiracy. Legislatures keep the laws unjust in order to keep fathers in court fighting for their equal rights. This provides job security and a steady flow of paychecks for judges, lawyers and court staff, all at the expense of our children. The idea of “parens patriae” is nothing but communism and the courts excuse of “best interest of the child” is a joke and a slap in the face to any parent. Being a parent is an unalienable right.

  14. Joe Norman

    My support case has been dragged out for 25 years, and my son lived with me. My ex-wife applied for welfare and got it. She collected this money the whole time I was raising my son. After my son turned 21 the state came after me. They claim that even though my wife voluntarily gave up custody, I’m still liable, and I have to pay it all back. After all this time the state can’t produce the original file. So they’ve been kind enough to compound the interest, since 1990. I’ll never be able to pay all this money. My son is now 34 years old with his own family, and I’m still paying child support to the state. Once you are in family court, you have zero rights, and can’t get out. Total violation of the Bill of Rights, no jury trial, no nothing if you were the non-custodial parent. Haven’t laid eyes on my ex since ’87, and I’m still having to deal with this mess.

    I’ve hired law firm after law firm, always the same results. They take my money and promise the world. Then it’s we can’t locate the file, you still have to keep paying, and on and on it goes.

    If I don’t pay it’s “we’ll take your driver license, throw you in jail, take your home, empty your bank account, and garnish your wages,” which have all been done at one time or another. Now I’m at an age where I can draw Social Security, they’ve informed me that they’ll take the max from my SS payments.

    By the way, I haven’t lived in the state where I was divorced for over 25 years, and have never been in a courtroom for even a traffic ticket in the state I reside in. And neither has my ex ever been here.

    This is nothing more that a racket of state-sponsored extortion. The only people making out are the lawyers, judges, and the courts. Once you’re in the family the only way out is to pay the juice! Otherwise you’ll spend your time and money chasing your tail like a dog.

    The family courts are totally corrupt. This system was set up by lawyers to enrich lawyers. For every dollar the county pays out in welfare the Feds match through Title IV payments, and the non-custodial parent has to pay it all back with interest.

    It’ll never change.

  15. Priscilla Dawley

    My ex doesnt pay anything and has never spent a day in jail over it. but my current husband has been to jail over his child support cases four times in less than a year. If he was truly trying to avoid paying I would be on him about it but he’s not we have been homeless since november 2014 staying with a friend here and a friend there. the first time he went in for it the amount they wanted in order for him to be released was crazy but i pawned and sold everything i could to bring him home. the second time i borrowed the money. the next time he sat there and they got nothing because we are tired of being told he didnt show up for court when we were never notified of a court date since we do not have an address to be notified at. now he is in jail for failure to appear for court but the court date was in january and he was in jail at that time and the court was notified that he was in jail in another county so once again this year we are facing more financial struggle, like being homeless with two children isnt enough. I am so tired of the court system on child support that i am concidering closing my case because i believe that their jobs of the child support enforcement are a waste of money. they go after the ones they know are down and not after the ones who just bounce around so they dont have to pay. you ask how they live and eat. well let me tell you i cook ramen soup with water from a coffee pot because we do not have running water we get it from the ice that melts in the cooler that we borrowed we have friends that let us shower and wash clothes at their place so am i supposed to ask them to pay his support since they are helping us with everyday needs that we can not provide for ourselves because every job he applies for says “we dont hire felons” ok so find him a job that pays more then min wage so that he cant afford to pay your outragious amount of 800 dollars a month and pay rent on a place, lights and water and provide food for himself. Our government just has to have someone to blame so start jailing people for credit card debt and hospital bills that they cant afford to pay. Why not when you jail a father because he has minimal resources.

  16. Carrie Berry

    I haven’t received child support for almost a year. In the mean time, the father became engaged, posted the ring, wedding, honeymoon, hunting trips, restaurant outings, etc. on social media. He claims he doesn’t have a job, and cannot find one because of a criminal record. I have a hearing coming up, and will show the judge that not only is he not homeless (you would assume someone unemployed for a year would have nothing) that he has been living it up. I have no sympathy for his possible incarceration. He has the latest smartphone, expense clothing, a vehicle, and lives in a gated resort community. He has had no contact with our 3 year old since birth. It’s hard for me to agree that a corrupt system may penalize him for being a deadbeat, and that’s unfair. I’m hopeful that this supposedly broken “extortion” system will do exactly what it’s in place to do with deadbeats.

  17. Chris Bass

    I can understand the frustration of a spouse getting excessive amounts of money as they do little (if anything) to support the kid(s) and flaunt their new lifestyle around -OR- a spouse that is supposed to pay and does not and still manages to live it up and do whatever.

    I have a similar issue although not between me and my wife/ex-wife, but me and my wife, and the Department of Child Services. They pocket cash just like a vengeful ex…and the law is on their side too.

    My wife and I are in a dispute with CPS and our child has been taken away from us. He is with a foster mom now. The foster mom receives $750/mo from the county for support. His medical is fully paid for. Department of Child Support Services has determined that, based on our income, we need to pay the county $2300/mo. When I asked where the extra $1550 is going, there is no response or a lot of back peddling and BS.

    Is it legal for the county to extort whatever they want from parents and pocket whatever they want? It may be, but I do not agree with that.

    What country do we live in again? The “War on Drugs”, the “War on this”, the “War on that” are great. I don’t disagree with them one bit. How about focusing on our internal problems and getting our own house and our own backyard in check before pushing our one-sided, two-faced, plank-in-the-eye, unconstitutional ways on other people?

  18. Giovanni LoPresti

    UNCONSCIONABLE DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES OF CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

    As an American Citizen, you want to believe that any person can rely upon judicial fairness in a child support proceeding. The reality is all child support debtors are treated like a piece of garbage. The wisdom of common sense, respect, judicial fairness, doesn’t exist under the present law. The mastermind of this unconscionable child support enforcement law was former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey.

    His Senate Bill modified U.S. Code Title IV-D (42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(9)(c)) which requires state courts to prohibit retroactive reduction of child support obligations. The law abolished the statute of limitations, created a civil judgment by operation of law on all child support debtors, allows adverse credit reporting, allows a cost of living adjustment every two years, allows for review of child support orders every 3 years, without a showing of substantial change in circumstance, allows for a suspension of drivers licenses, passports, professional licenses, income withholding, tax intercepts, unemployment & workman compensation intercepts, requires citizen to provide their social security numbers, requires employers to utilize new hire directory to see if a child support debt is owed, provides locator services, requires health care coverage to be provided by either or both parents, and requires a debtor citizen to show proof of substantial change in circumstances necessary in request for review outside 3-year cycle.

    I want to focus on the requirement of proof of substantial change in circumstances necessary in requesting a review of child support outside 3-year cycle. The law offers no guidance whatsoever on what constitutes a substantial change in circumstances. Similarly, the Office of Child Support Enforcement offers no guidance either. With no guidance whatsoever, the law requires payments to be maintained without regard to a citizen’s ability to pay.

    In my view, common sense and judicial fairness would dictate that an injury, illness, loss of employment at no fault of a citizen, whether temporary or not, would constitute a substantial change in financial circumstances. Nonetheless, family court judges throughout the United States have consistently rejected a child support debtor’s request for child support reduction under these circumstances. I asked myself over and over again, why are family court judges are so mean and lack understanding and compassion? The answer to this question is going to shock you.

    Under the present law, there is a presumption that child support award is correct and a citizen debtor has the ability to pay or find similar work at the same rate of pay, even if you’re not making the same amount of money. Put simply, Congress has provided family court judges psychic abilities to determine a citizen’s earning capabilities. I have heard endless horror stories of citizens whose financial circumstances changed, and denied judicial fairness in family court. Unfortunately, this is what will likely happen if your financial circumstances change:

    1. Unemployment or workmen compensation garnished at the full amount.
    2. Your ability to support yourself doesn’t matter.
    3. Fall behind at no fault of your own, driver’s license, professional license, passport revoked.
    4. Your credit will be destroyed.
    5. You can expect armed law enforcement showing up and putting you in county jail for failure to pay child support.
    6. Tax refund intercepted.

  19. Giovanni LoPresti

    WHY A CHILD SUPPORT DEBTORS ARE DENIED JUDICIAL FAIRNESS WHEN FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE

    My research has revealed that most Americans are unaware that our federal government reimburses States 66% of collection cost expended for child support enforcement, see Title IV under the Social Security Act. This doesn’t bother me, but the additional incentive dollars the States received to treat citizens like garbage does. Under Title IV:

    States receive additional incentive dollars for:

    a. paternity establishment
    b. order establishment
    c. collection on current support cases
    d. cases paying towards arrears
    e. cost effectiveness
    f. performance

    So regardless of a child support debtors changed financial circumstances, a family court judge will routinely deny any request for a reduction or, even a temporary reduction. The unfortunate truth, family court judges armed with physic abilities to determine a citizen’s earning abilities, don’t care. They are the front line in defending the State’s performance incentives. A family court judge will bully a citizen by denying any type of relief sought, suspend your driver’s license, professional license, passport, may incarcerate you for failure to pay child support without a finding of ability to pay, intercept your tax return, garnish your unemployment or workman’s compensation, destroy her credit, and your home State will receive additional incentive dollars from our federal government for doing this to you. This is not only insane, cruel, unconscionable, but definitely creates an appearance of impropriety.

    States routinely incarcerate child support debtors, without any determination that they have the ability to pay. The States routinely tell citizens that they are court ordered to pay child support and find them in civil contempt. However, the court order is also a civil judgment by operation of law. Did you ever hear of any situation whereby any judge would allow any person to have a slice a cake and eat it too? For example, if you obtained a civil judgment against me, you can’t suspend my passport, driver’s license, professional license, intercept my tax return, garnish my unemployment or disability check, hold me in contempt, and jail me for failure to pay a debt. Special thanks to our federal government, state government are permitted to have a slice of cake and eat it too.

    The last time I checked, the 14th Amendment prohibits States from denying any person within its territory the equal protection of the laws. The federal government must do the same, but this is also required by the 5th Amendment Due Process Clause. All citizens should be entitled to judicial fairness in any court proceeding. I urge all citizens to write their elected officials and asked them to repeal this unconscionable law. Alternatively, send your elected official a strong message and vote them out of office. A debtor citizen cannot rely upon judicial fairness in a family court proceeding, if a State has a financial interest in maintaining additional incentives dollars.

  20. Dolores Juarez

    My ex husband never paid child support and I refused to play the child support game. I raised my children on my own without any assistance. I worked, received an education and my children lacked nothing. I only asked that my ex be involved in my children’s life — which he never did. I now have a going through the child support system and I can see how fathers have no rights. My ex daughter in law receives help from me and my son is actively involved in the kids life (when he is allowed to). Now my son is jailed for child support debt. How can an administrative associate judge have the power to pass such judgement? And, how can he be jailed for a debt? I have attended some of these child support proceedings and these fathers have no say or voice. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fathers that are not involved with their children at all and have forgotten they even exist. But sometimes these mothers play games using their children against the fathers. I would rather have had my ex-husband involved in their lives than have the money. I was a strong, hardworking woman that was and is able to take care of my children. But, no amount of money can take place of the time a father can have in a child’s life.

  21. Tonya Davis

    Kearny County Kansas courts claim that the rights afforded by the US Constitution covers civil cases not just criminal and they claim they are not required to adhere to Article IV, Section 1 of the US Constitution when it comes to enforcement of court orders! Attention all deadbeats, move to Kearny County Kansas and they will provide you with a free court appointed attorney when you blatantly refuse to work full time in order to pay your child support! My ex owned his own company back in 2012 and somehow the courts have justified giving him an attorney ever since, even though I was not represented up until 1 year ago. The courts deliberately created an unfair courtroom and in the last 8 years my ex has only paid the correct amount 12 times. He owes over $97,000.00 and has never had his driver’s license suspended, he has not filed federal or state taxes since 2009, he has not had his passport suspended, or even spent 1 minute in jail. Kearny County courts do not care that a child goes without so long as their personal agendas are pushed.

  22. Julie Silver

    Does anyone know about what happens to a deadbeat dad in Florida that owes child support in Minnesota? My daughter’s boyfriend owes almost 51k in child support and has his child support registered in our county. It is dated back to 2010 and it is now 2019. He is on a personal injury case that is not going to be settled any time soon. Can anyone shed some light on this? I am assuming that he is in contempt of court in both Minnesota and Florida. When would an arrest warrant be signed and enforced?? I feel that this is going to take forever to get him in court, get cited for contempt of court and eventually end up in jail. Also, he has a child with my daughter as well. I feel that he is ‘freeloading’ off my daughter (she is on SSI as well). Please help us! He has not worked in over 3 years and has not made an attempt to find employment to help out with our expenses.

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