Blended Families

Question about child support with an unemployed ex.

 BF and I have a two and a half year old son. We were never married. I hired a lawyer and BF and I agreed and signed custody a support paperwork that will be final in a few weeks. Even though BF agreed to the paperwork he doesn't feel that the child support amount we agreed on is fair. Our paperwork says that he pays $300 a month retroactive to October 15, 2008 plus $650 in back support. The paperwork says he is to send payments to the support division and that if he is late they will garnish his wages. It also says that he has to pay $450 a month instead of $300 until he is caught up on everything. BF doesn't have a job. In the four years I have know him he has had countless jobs but has never kept one for more than maybe 4 months. He doesn't own any property or have anything in his name. He borrows friends cars and sleeps on friends couches. He is going to a community college. He started a few months ago. He quit his job (part time at walmart)  before starting school and said that working a going to school full time would be too hard. How will him paying support be enforced? They can't garnish his wages if he doesn't have a job. They can try to fine him but if he isn't paying support I doubt he will pay any fines. He never pays traffic tickets so I don't think he will care that much about a fine. Will they send him to jail? How would he make any money in jail to pay his support? How far behind does he have to be for something to be done? As soon as the paperwork is final he will already owe $1850.

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Re: Question about child support with an unemployed ex.

  • I'm not sure how it works in your state but if he is does not maintain a job the child support will continue to build and when he does start working again his wages and tax refund will be garnished.  My ex once lost his entire tax refund to pay what he owed me and he flipped.  Another thing that could happen is they will suspend his license and passport so that he cannot leave the country.  The dept will follow him forever so it would be in his best interest to try and keep his payments as up to date as possible.  I'm surprised the courts didn't order him to get a job.  Once when I took my ex to court the judge gave him 30 days to find a job.  Hope it all works out.
    Misty & Victor Jr. Married August 5, 2006 - St. John, USVI BFP 11/1/09 - Natural M.C. 11/30/09
  • No, he will not go to jail.  What happens to him depends on what state you live in.  Here in WA it is just like previous poster said - it just keeps racking up and if/when he gets a job, they start garnishing those wages, taking out a little extra each month to start making up the back payments.  Also there would be liens on his name if he owned anything and any extra money ie tax refund will be intercepted and given to you.

     My ex is currently behind $2000 on his support because he quit his job.  He lives in his Mom's rental for free and he has a brand new truck (bought in her name bc his credit is horrendous) while I am driving a 11 year old car and stressing every month to make bills etc.  Its furked up.  I hear you!  You can only know that *someday* you will get the money because at least here in WA, I know they are relentless in going after the b@stards.  GL

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  • In our state a payor can submit paperwork to the county child support enforcement agency letting them know he/she doesn't have a job and then they can change the amount he/she owes.  Usually you can only change child support every three years, but not having a job allows a person to get things changed early.  The moment the payor gets a job they have to report their new income to the county so that child support can be adjusted again. 

    The money already owed would be considered arrears and they would just keep adding up until the payor got child support payment amounts changed.  So if your BF isn't smart enough to fill out the paperwork than you could benefit. 

    Once the payor has a job they would do a wage garnishment and they would take extra $ to pay off the arrears.  They will even take arrears far after the child turns 18 in order to pay back the payee.  I think some states allow garnishments from bank accounts if you have his bank info. 

    Also, in our state if you owe arrears then any money the government might send you, such as tax returns or stimulus checks would automatically go to the payee. 

    Our county messed up and said my DH owed $9000 in arrears.  They didn't put him in jail, but they did put it on his credit report and they took extra money when they took his normal child support.  After they had already taken $4000 we got everything fixed and now his ex owes us the $4000 since the county already gave it to her.

  • Note that even if he is unemployed, the courts don't necessarily reduce his obligation.  They can do what is called an imputing of income, that is, estimating what he *should* be making if they decide he is unemployed or underemployed for the purpose of avoiding his obligations - like child support.  They will determine child support based on what they feel he *should* be making rather than his actual income.  :)

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  • They can be arrested in Maryland. If that happens then they have to work while arrested, and all of their wages go to the child support.
  • It really depends on your state. Some of them will arrest his lazy ass, others will say tough sh!t, nothing to garnish if he isn't working and others will actually reduce his payment.

    Call up the child support enforcement office in your state and ask them. The number is usually on the state attorney general's page.



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  • Keep in mind that only state tax refunds can be garnished. They can't seize his federal tax refund, if he gets one.

    Is he not working for a legitmate reason such as illness or disability? Or is he not working just so he can avoid paying CS?

     

  • He may take it more seriously after the papers are filed. Here (Georgia) support is paid if parent in jail and they have to pay back as rules of probabtion :-)

     

    Sorry, I know it is hard. Hang in there

  • imageMrsBPO:
    Note that even if he is unemployed, the courts don't necessarily reduce his obligation.  They can do what is called an imputing of income, that is, estimating what he *should* be making if they decide he is unemployed or underemployed for the purpose of avoiding his obligations - like child support.  They will determine child support based on what they feel he *should* be making rather than his actual income.  :)

     

    This is what my lawyer did. She based everything off of what he could be making. I don't see why a judge would reduce it just because he doesn't have a job. He signed the paperwork when he didn't have a job and hadn't had one in months.

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  • imageHis#1Girl:

    Keep in mind that only state tax refunds can be garnished. They can't seize his federal tax refund, if he gets one.

    Is he not working for a legitmate reason such as illness or disability? Or is he not working just so he can avoid paying CS?

     

  • imageHis#1Girl:

    Keep in mind that only state tax refunds can be garnished. They can't seize his federal tax refund, if he gets one.

    Is he not working for a legitmate reason such as illness or disability? Or is he not working just so he can avoid paying CS?

     

    My DH's Fed and State Refunds were taken as well as his Stimulus Check.  That was Ohio though, so check with your case worker for specifics on your state.

  • imageHis#1Girl:

    Keep in mind that only state tax refunds can be garnished. They can't seize his federal tax refund, if he gets one.

    Is he not working for a legitmate reason such as illness or disability? Or is he not working just so he can avoid paying CS?

    This is not true.  It may or may not be state dependent, but every state I've lived in or dealt with the child support issue (all two or three of them) does allow garnishment/attachment of a federal income tax refund; neither does federal law prohibit garnishment or attachment.  If he has a spouse she can file an "injured spouse claim" and if he doesn't he can still file an appeal of the garnishment with the IRS.  They will notifiy him that his federal refund is going to be attached and give him the procedures on how to do it.

    If his spouse files an injured spouse claim, the IRS will review how much she is entitled to of the refund and submit that amount to her.  Any amount above the wronged spouse determination will be forwarded to you as back child support and will reduce the amount owed by him in an equal amount.

    The process before you get your portion of his income tax refund generally takes about six months.

    My understanding is government disability payments may not be garnished (emphasis on *may*.  If he is receiving per diem or other payments above a disability allowance, it may be garnished on approval of the government agency disbursing the disability funds.  I went through this with the VA when ex and I were considering separation many moons ago.)


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  • imageMrsBPO:
    imageHis#1Girl:

    Keep in mind that only state tax refunds can be garnished. They can't seize his federal tax refund, if he gets one.

    Is he not working for a legitmate reason such as illness or disability? Or is he not working just so he can avoid paying CS?

    This is not true.  It may or may not be state dependent, but every state I've lived in or dealt with the child support issue (all two or three of them) does allow garnishment/attachment of a federal income tax refund; neither does federal law prohibit garnishment or attachment.  If he has a spouse she can file an "injured spouse claim" and if he doesn't he can still file an appeal of the garnishment with the IRS.  They will notifiy him that his federal refund is going to be attached and give him the procedures on how to do it.

    If his spouse files an injured spouse claim, the IRS will review how much she is entitled to of the refund and submit that amount to her.  Any amount above the wronged spouse determination will be forwarded to you as back child support and will reduce the amount owed by him in an equal amount.

    The process before you get your portion of his income tax refund generally takes about six months.

    My understanding is government disability payments may not be garnished (emphasis on *may*.  If he is receiving per diem or other payments above a disability allowance, it may be garnished on approval of the government agency disbursing the disability funds.  I went through this with the VA when ex and I were considering separation many moons ago.)

    You are right, I should have stated "In MI". 

     

  • MI allows state garnishments but not federal?  I wonder why.

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  • I know that military disability cannot be garnished. My coworker's DH is a deadbeat. He quit his job because he didn't like the garnishment. He pays $50 a month and keeps filing himself in court to get it reduced, and loses. Then writes to the newspaper about how "biased" the judge is. Anyway he's back in school, and the judge told him he needs to give her the support from his loan or something. ALl because he chose to go back to school doesn't mean she has to suffer. He claimed he was disabled so couldn't work and the judge told him "then apply for disability and pay out of that." Then he said he felt guilty taking state money. Basically he's an ass full of excuses (my coworker tells me it all because she's either mad at her DH, or the judge depending on her mood, I wish she'd leave him). Anyway he's doing his second stint of weekend jail. Before it was 6 months, this time it is a year. He's appealed it saying the judge is sexist against men, and is suing the county, but that was last I heard since I went on maternity.

    Here they do the weekend jail so that you are punished, but in theory can still work a job to start paying your debt. My coworker files taxes separately since he just makes her owe more. And he threw that fit about his refund the year he worked going to his ex.

  • My fiance lives in Michigan... and last year ALL his taxes were taken to pay his back child support.?
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