Attorney General not following the law!!!

[ceara19]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I am having a problem with the Texas AG's office. My ex-husband is, by AG's calculations, over $24,000 in arrears. (By my calculations it's closer to $60,000, they are not including medical/dental bills and insurance reimbursment.) The amount of the regular child support is $907/month for my 2 children, I know it sound high, but it is only 13% of his net income.I initially went to the AG's office in May of '04 because he has not paid child support with any regularity since our final divorce hearing in Jan. '01. Each time I would track him down to his new job, he would quit in order to avoid payment and without the child support it was getting too expensive for me find him time & time again. The AG's office didn't start garnishing his check until 4 month after I contacted them, even though I gave them his employer & address. It then took anither 5 months for them to figure the arrears and start collecting them. The AG set the repayment at $100/month. Texas law requires past due support to be scheduled for pay back either at an additional 20% or in 24 payment, whichever gets the debt paid off sooner. In the past year I have found an additional source of regular income, an insurance settlement, an inheritance and bank account with substasial amounts of money in them that my ex receives. (He sets the bank account up in only his current wife's name. Since Texas is a community property state, that shouldn't matter.) Each time I reported it to the AG's office and was told that since I was receiving child support now they wouldn't look into the other sources of money or garnish additional wages. The law in Texas REQUIRES child support to be deducted from any & all souces of income until the debt is satisfied. There is a lien for the outstanding amount, but the AG refuses to enforce it. I have spoken with dozens of agents, case managers and attorneys at the AG's office to no avail. I cannot afford a private attorney, but I don't know where else to turn. Texas also has a law reguarding employer liability. Basically, if the employer receives an order of withholding and fails to comply, they are responsible to pay the uncollected support. Would this law affect the AG's office. They have the order, they know where to find the money, yet they are failing to comply with the laws they helped establish. I know this is very long & I appologize. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I am having a problem with the Texas AG's office. My ex-husband is, by AG's calculations, over $24,000 in arrears. (By my calculations it's closer to $60,000, they are not including medical/dental bills and insurance reimbursment.) The amount of the regular child support is $907/month for my 2 children, I know it sound high, but it is only 13% of his net income.I initially went to the AG's office in May of '04 because he has not paid child support with any regularity since our final divorce hearing in Jan. '01. Each time I would track him down to his new job, he would quit in order to avoid payment and without the child support it was getting too expensive for me find him time & time again. The AG's office didn't start garnishing his check until 4 month after I contacted them, even though I gave them his employer & address. It then took anither 5 months for them to figure the arrears and start collecting them. The AG set the repayment at $100/month. Texas law requires past due support to be scheduled for pay back either at an additional 20% or in 24 payment, whichever gets the debt paid off sooner. In the past year I have found an additional source of regular income, an insurance settlement, an inheritance and bank account with substasial amounts of money in them that my ex receives. (He sets the bank account up in only his current wife's name. Since Texas is a community property state, that shouldn't matter.) Each time I reported it to the AG's office and was told that since I was receiving child support now they wouldn't look into the other sources of money or garnish additional wages. The law in Texas REQUIRES child support to be deducted from any & all souces of income until the debt is satisfied. There is a lien for the outstanding amount, but the AG refuses to enforce it. I have spoken with dozens of agents, case managers and attorneys at the AG's office to no avail. I cannot afford a private attorney, but I don't know where else to turn. Texas also has a law reguarding employer liability. Basically, if the employer receives an order of withholding and fails to comply, they are responsible to pay the uncollected support. Would this law affect the AG's office. They have the order, they know where to find the money, yet they are failing to comply with the laws they helped establish. I know this is very long & I appologize. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I recommend that you go and get a consult with an attorney. You don't necessarily have to hire the attorney...but I think that you will get betters answers to your questions.

I know that you are wrong on one issue. Money or assets that are solely in his wife's name CANNOT be attached for the CS debt.

I also suspect that as long as he is paying the money amount that he is ordered to pay...that a judge wouldn't go after any other assets. However a local attorney can give you more definiative information.

 

[nextwife]

"Community Property" does NOT mean that he has any equal ownership of everything his wife has. Premarital assets or inheritances she recieves during the marriage are seperate property, UNLESS she co-mingles those into joint accounts.

 

[ceara19]

"Community Property" does NOT mean that he has any equal ownership of everything his wife has. Premarital assets or inheritances she recieves during the marriage are seperate property, UNLESS she co-mingles those into joint accounts.

The accounts contain assets that HE obtained. Including, an inheritance left to HIM from HIS mother, an insurance settlement in HIS name and moeny from employment and bonuses. He put the money into accounts that are only in HER name as a way to attempt to avoid having them subject to the child support lien, which in Texas is against the law. Some of the money could fall under the injured spouse protection law (meaning only half of it could be seizes to satisfy the debt). However, to get the papers from the insurance company, records from his employer and other paperwork needed as proof of where the money came from, I would need supeneas from the court to be served to the various companies, which I can't afford. Or I would need my ex-husband to voluntarily provide the information, which I doubt he will do.

 

[ceara19]

I recommend that you go and get a consult with an attorney. You don't necessarily have to hire the attorney...but I think that you will get betters answers to your questions.

I know that you are wrong on one issue. Money or assets that are solely in his wife's name CANNOT be attached for the CS debt.

I also suspect that as long as he is paying the money amount that he is ordered to pay...that a judge wouldn't go after any other assets. However a local attorney can give you more definiative information.

Actually in most community property states, including Texas, assets in a spouses name can attached and/or seized, as long as they are not premarital assets. Some other types of assets fall into that category also, such as inheritance willed solely to her. You are correct as to the fact that the new spouses name cannot be attached to the CS order. However, assets that are in her name soley and that are considered community property can be seized and/or attached. This prevents people from hiding assets.
Part of the problem in this case is the fact that the inheritance should have never been released from probate and the insurance settlement should have never passed the insurance board and been issued to my ex since there was an outstanding lien, which is held by the AG's office in the interest of the children. I've spoken with several lawyers & law students. At this point my only options seems to be to hire an attorney and bring the matter to court, and with 2 young children, I can't afford that. I am trying to find some sort of organization or group that could help in this matter. Not just for my children, but for all of the children not receiving what they should be because the state doesn't want to do the job that they are supposed to.
The Texas AG's office has a very bad habbit of "collecting" CS from parents that are already paying or doing the minimum to collect from parents whose children are on state aid. It is the AG'sjob to look out for the best interest of the child/ren. They a failing miserably at that. Several of the "Most Wanted Deadbeat Parents" on the AG website who are listed as location unknown, are easily found via a simple search any one with internet access can perform. (Yes, I've done this. When I have found a possible match, I attempt to verify it is the correct person, usually by send an email or calling and saying: "This is 'Jane Smith', I worked with/went to school with/used to work with a 'John Doe' from whatever city was the last known address, Texas and I was wondering if you are that 'John Doe'? It's surprising how many people reply. If they reply that they are indeed that person, I forward the information to the AG's office. I don't personaly know any of these people. I do it because the AG's office won't. Most CP's rely on CS to survive. Even if they don't, the childern deserve it.

 

[Inquiry123]

They say, "It takes money to make money"...

So get some money. Take out a loan against your assets. Borrow some cash from family members.

Hire an att'y, prove the actual amount of support you're owed, ask to have your thousands in legal fees paid, get a judgement. Haul him back into court to detail his assets and have them surrendered. Payday.

Is that how you think it's going to work? Sounds like a sure thing. I'm surprised none of several lawyers you've talked to aren't taking your case on a contingency basis. My opinion is that this is a road to nowhere.

There are no organizations or groups that want to finance your lump-sum payday.

Instead, you "hired" the AG to do the work for free. As far as they're concerned, they've been successful -- your ex is now consistently paying support and on the arrears. Case closed. And it only cost you pennies.

Questions: If your ex has the cash, why doesn't he pay-off the arrears instead of being soaked by the interest/fees associated with paying the debt over time? If you offered him a settlement for a reduced lump-sum, would he jump at it?

 

[ceara19]

So get some money. Take out a loan against your assets. Borrow some cash from family members.

Hire an att'y, prove the actual amount of support you're owed, ask to have your thousands in legal fees paid, get a judgement. Haul him back into court to detail his assets and have them surrendered. Payday.

Is that how you think it's going to work? Sounds like a sure thing. I'm surprised none of several lawyers you've talked to aren't taking your case on a contingency basis. My opinion is that this is a road to nowhere.

There are no organizations or groups that want to finance your lump-sum payday.

Instead, you "hired" the AG to do the work for free. As far as they're concerned, they've been successful -- your ex is now consistently paying support and on the arrears. Case closed. And it only cost you pennies.

Questions: If your ex has the cash, why doesn't he pay-off the arrears instead of being soaked by the interest/fees associated with paying the debt over time? If you offered him a settlement for a reduced lump-sum, would he jump at it?

First of all, I've had to sell most of my assets, max out my credit cards and taken out loans from banks, family & friends, just to pay the bills for for the FIVE YEARS he spent moving around & switching jobs to avoid paying child support. Secondly, it's about ACCOUNTABILITY. He is just as resposible for the children being born as I am. Just because he decided to turn his back on them does not relieve him of that commitment. He has never visited, call or asked about them since the divorce was filed. No one can make him be a father to his children, but he can be held responsible for the CS.

The "hiring" AG's office wasn't exactly my decision. They were already in the process of taking over all the cases in this county. They were the ones that sent the notice to all CP's who were owed past due support. We could go ahead & fill out the paperwork now to get the ball rolling on collecting or we could do nothing and it would be turned over to them within 60 days anyway. They were the ones who said the past due amount would be paid as quickly as possible. The AG went to court and got the lien. And they are the ones not following through with the rules they set.

It's not about the money. If it was I would have asked for a support review and doubled the payments. I settled for a much lower % of CS than the law required as a compromise to other issues in the divorce. Personally, I'd rather see him sitting in jail for failure to pay and get nothing in child support. Maybe then more non-custodial parents (men AND women) will start taking thier responsibilities seriously if they know they could end up in jail. This is alot bigger than just my case. BILLION of dollars in CS goes uncollected every year with very little being done about it. Congres pass tougher laws every year, but they don't work if no one enforces them. It's time for the AG's office to live up to thier end of the bargain. The majority of the CS 'collected' each year by the AG would have been payed by resposible parents reguardless of the AG's involvement. Very little is done to collect from deadbeats. They have the authority to seize property and bank accounts, suspend licences and put people behind bars and it's about time they start using it. Until they do, all the threats in the world won't make a person pay if there are no repercussions for not doing so. The name of the office is "Texas Attorney General Child Support Enforcement Division". If they aren't going to enforce they need to change it to the child support forwarding agency, because for the most part all they do is take a check from one parent and send it to the other parent.

As far as him having the money, he does. He's trying to hid it by putting everything in his wifes name. Why sould he pay the amount in full and have to do without that money when the AG office is only asking for $100/month. He's smart enough to know that he'll more than likely be dead long before it's ever paid off. You can't collect money from a dead man!

I hope that clears everything up for you!

 

[Inquiry123]

Yes, everything's becoming very clear...

ceara:

Thanks for setting me straight. Please, can you clear-up a few more questions...

1. How is it that there is a $35,000 discrepancy between the AG's figures and yours regarding the amount due? I know you cited medical expenses, etc. but I simply don't believe that your documentation of these expenses would be ignored by the AG. My experience has been that the AG "shoots high" and would assert your claim (even without adequate proof.) How did your ex convince the AG that the amount was only $24K?

1a. You state that ex has not paid support "with any regularity". According to the AG's figures, he's paid more than half the time. Am I missing something? He paying now, right? He's also paying his arrears, right?

2. You claim that the support amount is only 13% of your ex's net income for 2 children. Why hasn't this amount been increased to the standard 25% by the AG? I've got to believe there's a good reason you haven't requested the AG review the support amount. Oh, that's right...you "compromised" a lower support amount for "other issues" in the divorce. Translation: "I sold-out my children ("the children deserve it") to get what I wanted."

3. You state that without the support "it was getting too expensive" to find your ex time and again. Yet on the other hand, "Most Wanted Deadbeats" are easily found by anyone with internet access. Did your ISP cut-off your service? Are you posting from the PC at your public library?

4. You indicate that you ex's income is over $100K/year...but that repayment of arrears was set at $100/month. Where are you getting your info regarding your ex's income -- and why doesn't the AG have the same info?

5. You claim that most CP's rely on support to SURVIVE. I suppose that most NCP's would argue that they don't care if the CP's survive or not (NCP's mostly care about the children.) In a backhanded way, you acknowledge that you are as responsible as your ex for bringing the children into the world; if your ex were to expire, what will you do with nobody owing support at that point? Sue his current wife?

6. "It's not about the money." Did you drop that line when you were in the AG's office? No wonder you're not getting more money -- it's not about the money!

7. "Personally, I'd rather see him sitting in jail for failure to pay and get nothing in child support." Yes, it is becoming clearer. Translation: "I'd rather let my kids suffer than pass-up a chance for my own gratification." Am I missing something?

8. Why pay the lump-sum? To avoid penalties, interest, and fees. To ultimately pay less. If your credit cards are maxed-out, I'm sure you understand, to some extent, what I mean. Do you understand what I mean?

9. "You can't collect money from a dead man!" You're kidding me, right? Translation: "I don't work for the IRS!"

Honestly, I hope you get every cent you're owed by your ex. If anyone thinks that it would not be a complete waste of time/money to pursue a lump-sum payout through the courts, I hope they'll post more encouraging advice.

 

[ceara19]

ceara:

Thanks for setting me straight. Please, can you clear-up a few more questions...

1. How is it that there is a $35,000 discrepancy between the AG's figures and yours regarding the amount due? I know you cited medical expenses, etc. but I simply don't believe that your documentation of these expenses would be ignored by the AG. My experience has been that the AG "shoots high" and would assert your claim (even without adequate proof.) How did your ex convince the AG that the amount was only $24K?

Neither one of us had spoken to the AG prior to the amount being set. They used the District record to set the arrears. The reason there is discrepancy in the amount due is the fact that the medical has not been added. The AG has received the invoices twice, once when the case was taken over from the District Clerk and then again when they requested the bells from me. That was close to a year ago. But I’m fine with the $24K amount. I don’t have any intension to pursue the other. If the AG wants to go after it, fine. If they don’t that’s fine too. Like I’ve said before, it’s not just about the money, it’s about accountability.

1a. You state that ex has not paid support "with any regularity". According to the AG's figures, he's paid more than half the time. Am I missing something? He paying now, right? He's also paying his arrears, right?

The majority of what has already been paid came in the form of a lump sum payment. A piece of property we had at the time of the divorce finally sold. The proceeds were to be split 50/50. The check came to me with only my name on it. I could have just keep the entire amount and never said another word about it. Instead I sent a reciept for his portion to the DC's office. He is paying now, but only because it is garnish from his check. The arrears are being paid at a rate of $100/mo. (The kids would be on social security be the time it's payed of.) I could understand IF that were all he could afford, but he takes home close to $10K a month.


2. You claim that the support amount is only 13% of your ex's net income for 2 children. Why hasn't this amount been increased to the standard 25% by the AG? I've got to believe there's a good reason you haven't requested the AG review the support amount. Oh, that's right...you "compromised" a lower support amount for "other issues" in the divorce. Translation: "I sold-out my children ("the children deserve it") to get what I wanted."

It hasn't been changed because that is the amount I agreed to and I plan on living up to that agreement. Before you accuse me of selling out my children it may be wise to find out why. When I filed for divorce, my ex didn't want to have anything to do with the kids. When he found out how much the CS would be, he told me if I insisted on that much he would file for visitation and that he would drop in & out of thier lives however he pleased. It is cruel to children to come around long enough to get to know him just to have him disappear again. I know that after a pattern of doing this sort of thing, I could have gone back to the judge to modify it, but by then the damage to the kids has already been done. I don't know if he would have actually followed through with it, but I wasn't going to take the chance.


3. You state that without the support "it was getting too expensive" to find your ex time and again. Yet on the other hand, "Most Wanted Deadbeats" are easily found by anyone with internet access. Did your ISP cut-off your service? Are you posting from the PC at your public library?

When it was time to serve him with the papers, he had already changed jobs and moved. The way I find a person using the internet is by using online phone directories, messanger and email directories and professional organizations. He didn't have any of these things. Plus he would leave town for months at a time for work.


4. You indicate that you ex's income is over $100K/year...but that repayment of arrears was set at $100/month. Where are you getting your info regarding your ex's income -- and why doesn't the AG have the same info?

I know the payscale at the company he works for. He also had to submit tax retuns to the AG. The AG doen't automatically modify CS. They sent me a notice that I could have the CS reviewed. I declined.

5. You claim that most CP's rely on support to SURVIVE. I suppose that most NCP's would argue that they don't care if the CP's survive or not (NCP's mostly care about the children.) In a backhanded way, you acknowledge that you are as responsible as your ex for bringing the children into the world; if your ex were to expire, what will you do with nobody owing support at that point? Sue his current wife?

I said CP instead of children beacuse they are the ones that actually pay the bills. Many have to have it in order to pay for daycare FOR THE CHILDREN, to buy groceries FOR THE CHILDREN, to purchase clothing and school supplies FOR THE CHILDREN and so on. The children survival depends directly on the parents. That's why they are called dependents. I don't use the child support for bills. It goes into a college fund for the children. We lived on what I alone make before he started paying and we still do. It's not that we couldn't use it to pay some of the bills or to move into a larger house (We only have 2 bedrooms and the kids at the age they need seperate rooms, they are of opposite sexes, so they each get a bedroom & I sleep in the living room), it's that I don't want to put myself in the situation of needing it pay bills, because it can stop as quickly as it started. If he were to die, I have a life insurance policy on him that I was allowed to retain after we divorced as long as I make the payments. Plus if a parent dies and the children are under 18, the children can be issued social security death benefits.

6. "It's not about the money." Did you drop that line when you were in the AG's office? No wonder you're not getting more money -- it's not about the money!

I never asked for MORE money. I just want him to pay the amount we agreed to.

7. "Personally, I'd rather see him sitting in jail for failure to pay and get nothing in child support." Yes, it is becoming clearer. Translation: "I'd rather let my kids suffer than pass-up a chance for my own gratification." Am I missing something?

My kids are suffering. Since the CS goes in to a college fund, it has no affect on the way of life my children have.

8. Why pay the lump-sum? To avoid penalties, interest, and fees. To ultimately pay less. If your credit cards are maxed-out, I'm sure you understand, to some extent, what I mean. Do you understand what I mean?

I do understand what you're saying. You don't understand the way my ex thinks. He doesn't care about the fees & interest. He just doesn't want to pay. His way of thinking is that since he doesn't want to have anything to do with them, he souldn't have to pay. We had an automatic review hearing 6 months after the divorce was final because of the unusual CS & visitation. The judge want to make sure everyone was still happy with the arrangement. He didn't even bother to show up. At that time I requested his rights be terminated. He had no visitation rights whatsoever so it seemed to be the logical thing to do. The judge refused it. She felt as though he should still be heald responsible for CS whether he wanted to be a father to them or not. She added that if I ever remarried she would reconsider.

9. "You can't collect money from a dead man!" You're kidding me, right? Translation: "I don't work for the IRS!"

At $100/per month, chances are he will die before the arrears are paid off.

Honestly, I hope you get every cent you're owed by your ex. If anyone thinks that it would not be a complete waste of time/money to pursue a lump-sum payout through the courts, I hope they'll post more encouraging advice.

Thank you. My goal isn't to see him drained of everything he has. We both chose to have these children, just because he's changed his mind doesn't mean he get to just walk away free & clear. I don't know exactly why he chose to do what he has, but it's about time the man grows the hell up and and starts taking responsibility for his actions. I've sent a letter to him, stating that I would be more than willing to go back to court, even though I'm not married, & petition to have his rights terminated again if he would just pay off what he owes. I put it in writing so he would have proof of the offer in case he thought I was trying to trick him into something. One would think that since it eliminate further CS he would take me up on it. Instead he had his wife call to tell me that if he has anything to do with it, I'll never see all of the back support. His choices & actions have not made since to me for years, so I'm not going to try & figure him out now.

 

[Inquiry123]

Observations...

ceara:

Please understand that none of my inquiries/observations are meant as personal attacks. Your ex is probably an idiot. And I'm sure that you want to do what's ultimately in the best interest of the children. That's part of being a parent, I guess.

In my opinion, some of the decisions you detail in your posts do not make sense, financially, for yourself or the children. Additionally, I personally don't feel they make emotional/developmental sense inasmuch as the children are concerned. Let me tell you why...

You state that the children are suffering. You settled (and are still) for a much lower amount of support than THE CHILDREN are entitled to. Your ex should be paying a FAIR amount of support and arrears. It would be very simple and reasonable for you to have the support modified to an amount that would be FAIR for THE CHILDREN. Because you refuse to do this, you passively contribute to the suffering of the children. I suggest that you modify the support for the children's good.

Although you have sold your assets, are in debt to family/friends/the bank and have maxed-out your credit cards, you defer ALL of the support that is being paid into a college fund. While that may seem admirable, it is not practical for the children given THEIR current situation. The children suffer because you are deliberately choosing to suffer. You state that the support may end as quickly as it began -- so, how long are you going to live in inadequate conditions? I suggest that you USE the support now...pay off the debt incurred during times of no support. Move into adequate housing. Otherwise, why not send dad a letter postponing support until college (because it doesn't make sense.)

It's obvious to me that you sell-out financially to ensure that the father/child relationship is limited. Yes, I know it's just as much dad's decision. Regardless, you are not "protecting" the children from anything. How does the message "Your dad doesn't care about you," or "Your dad sold-out for money," or NOT ENCOURAGING a relationship actually help the kids? Did your ex beat you? Is he a sex-offender? Did you actually have kids with someone that didn't have SOME kind of desire to be a father?

You say that this isn't about money...that you just want him to pay what he agreed to. He didn't. He doesn't want to. He won't live up to his responsibility. OK mom, the covenant is broken -- go back and get what your kids deserve.

 

[ceara19]

ceara:

Please understand that none of my inquiries/observations are meant as personal attacks.

I understand what your saying and you are probably right about modifying the CS. I may do just that someday. I’m just the type of person that believes when you make a deal you stand behind it. I know he hasn’t held up his end of the bargain, but just because three rights make a left, two wrongs don’t make a right. As far as their suffering, it’s not a physical suffering. All of their needs are taken care of (I’m the one without a bedroom J) It’s the fact that they are growing up without a father. I know children of single parents grow up just fine every day, but they were still cheated out of something important. As far as the visitation goes, he made it very clear that he wanted nothing to do with any of us. He never wanted visitation and I never asked the court to limit it. When he was using as a threat, he didn’t want it so that he could have a relationship with them. His intension was to come around until they got attached and then leave in order to hurt them. Like I’ve said, I don’t know if he would have actually DONE IT, but I didn’t want to risk it. I certainly hope he is not so sadistic that he would have followed through it, but he knew it was the only leverage he had .I wasn’t asking for anything in the divorce other than the CS. I knew I couldn’t afford the payments on the house or the cars, I already had what furniture I wanted and all of my premarital assets were in individual accounts that were established before the marriage. My only fear was hurting the children mentally & psychologically any more than absolutely necessary. I tried everything possible to establish a good parent/child relationship from the beginning. I would bring them to his house to visit several times a week and encouraged him to visit whenever he wanted. The response was always the same, he didn’t want to ‘play daddy anymore’ as he put it. I tried to convince him that at the he should make his disappearing act gradual for their sake. Even though they were very young, he was the only father they had and they loved him. My daughter would cry for what seemed like hours because she missed him. It completely shattered my heart to see her so upset and know I couldn’t do anything to make the hurt go away. I don’t think I could have lived with myself if I let it happen again.

There are other reasons behind not using the CS to pay bills. Eventually, the kids are going to want to know about their father. They’ll want to know why he wasn’t around, and he’s the only one that can answer that. My ex isn’t very good at admitting any wrongdoing on his part whatsoever. Unless he goes through some serious changes before then His explanation is going to be that I was only interested in taking every penny I could get out of him and that he couldn’t afford to fight for them because I was taking so much of his money he could barely live. Big long completely false sob story. It’s the same explanation he has given to everyone that has inquired as to why he doesn’t see his kids. I’ve had so many irate phone calls from new girlfriends, our formerly mutual friends and his family telling me what a total bitch I am for doing this to him that I’ve lost count. So when the day comes that he tries it on the children, it won’t hold up. I’ve got the paperwork showing what he should be paying, the payment records for what was actually paid AND the actual money that was paid. I think it will be much easier for them to find out what kind of a person he is from the get go than for them to by into what he’s saying. Either way, they’ll figure out the truth, but at least this way they won’t have any built up expectations of him only to be disappoint by him again. I have never said a bad word about my ex to them and I have no intention of ever doing so. They have to come to their own judgment of him in their own time and they should be able to base it on the proof, not on either my or my ex’s view of the situation. Don’t get me wrong, if it were ever down to use the money or the kids go without, I’m using the money, but for now we’re okay.

I don’t know what changed with him, but when we were married he wanted kids as much as I did. It took us three years, tons of money, lots of heartaches and dozens of tests & procedures to have a family. He’s never explained to me why he wanted out of being a husband and/or a father, just that he ‘didn’t want to do it anymore’. At first I tried to figure out where things went wrong until I finally realized there wasn’t always an answer for everything.

 

[Tinaa]

The OAG is so overburdened with cases, they can't do all you want them to do. I know for a fact that they do not mess with health insurance issues. Over the years I have dealt with the OAG I have adopted the philosophy, "You get what you pay for." As others have said, if you want to go after other assets, you'll have to get a private attorney. This attorney will have to work within the rules of the OAG or you can drop your case with the OAG and go it on your own.

I understand your frustration. My ex owed 20,000+. I forgave a good third of the amount on the mistaken notion he would see the kids or at least call them on their birthdays. More the fool I was. He only has to pay 50 bucks on the arrears and he's six months behind again on the monthly support. I'm sure that his problems this time are all my fault, again.

IMOHO, You'd be better off teaching your children that debt, ie credit cards, are life killers. Texas has plenty of programs, like Texas Grant, along with the Fed's Pell grants, low interest loans, and scholarships offered by many colleges. It is good to prepare for tomorrow, but you've got to live today! And remember in Texas that support rarely goes beyond high school.

Use the support for the purpose it is intended, to help support the kids day to day life. You are robbing them and yourself of some wonderful times! Take a trip, go to Fiesta Texas, make some memories. Trust me, being angry with your ex will just make you crazy - he doesn't care and neither doas the OAG. Kids grow up too darn fast to allow the ex to color your life with anger and madness ;-).

No attacks or real legal advice, just good old fashion "Dear Abby" truths.

 

[ceara19]

Thanks to all

I want to thank all who replied. I had an appointment for a consultation with an attorney this morning, but there I got a "surprise" this weekend that changed my situation somewhat (no it wasn't a big fat check from my ex .) It's an offer for a great new career opportunity, but it's causing some problems that make this CS issue small. It's all relative I guess! Again, thanks for the help. If anyone's still in the advise giving mood feel free to give me your opinion on my new problem:
https://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=976133#post976133