Prison and Child Support

[gtzdad]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

I read a very good question today on another website. A lady was asking, how she can get back child support from her ex-husband who's in prison serving a life sentence?

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

I read a very good question today on another website. A lady was asking, how she can get back child support from her ex-husband who's in prison serving a life sentence?

She should come here and ask...

 

[gtzdad]

She should come here and ask...

I responded and placed the link to this site in that response telling her she'd get an accurate answer here, but I was just really curious myself how that would work.

 

[CourtClerk]

Basically, she can't, unless of course, he's sitting on a gold mine somewhere that wasn't used for his legal defense.

 

[gtzdad]

Basically, she can't, unless of course, he's sitting on a gold mine somewhere that wasn't used for his legal defense.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[xylene]

This is probably the best argument for why the state should not be able to pay less than minimum wage to prison labor.

 

[retiredCSguy]

Realistically, you're never going to see child support from someone doing life. Honestly, you'd have to be pretty damn greedy to think you were. Considering the tax payer is already going to care for the individual for potentially the rest of his life I fail to see any reason why the state should pay minimum wage to prisoners. Even if they did there's no way to compell them to work while in prison.

 

[nextwife]

Realistically, you're never going to see child support from someone doing life. Honestly, you'd have to be pretty damn greedy to think you were. Considering the tax payer is already going to care for the individual for potentially the rest of his life I fail to see any reason why the state should pay minimum wage to prisoners. Even if they did there's no way to compell them to work while in prison.

I agree with this. WE are supporting the imprisoned - anything they earn should be in exchange for housing and feeding them.

 

[Ohiogal]

Realistically, you're never going to see child support from someone doing life. Honestly, you'd have to be pretty damn greedy to think you were. Considering the tax payer is already going to care for the individual for potentially the rest of his life I fail to see any reason why the state should pay minimum wage to prisoners. Even if they did there's no way to compell them to work while in prison.

Actually there are many good reasons to get a child support order against someone who is in prison for life.

 

[retiredCSguy]

Yeah, I'm sure getting half of their 60 cent an hour job is really worth it. That is, if the have a paying job, those are pretty rare and hard to come by in the prison system. Most inmates with jobs are doing it for extra time out of the old cage. Equally, the typical individual doing life is on the bottom rungs of the socio-economic ladder. So it's unlikely there's an estate to sue.

 

[Ohiogal]

Yeah, I'm sure getting half of their 60 cent an hour job is really worth it. That is, if the have a paying job, those are pretty rare and hard to come by in the prison system. Most inmates with jobs are doing it for extra time out of the old cage. Equally, the typical individual doing life is on the bottom rungs of the socio-economic ladder. So it's unlikely there's an estate to sue.

Actually you don't get half of their prison wages necessarily. They can be imputed with the income they were earning before they went to jail. If they receive any inheritances, income from social security, have any property, or do anything to earn income, it can be attached. Some life sentences are commuted and the individual is released. Some life sentences are overturned due to new evidence and the individual is then paid money by the state for being locked up improperly. Some inmates have lawsuits pending in which they receive settlements. Should I continue?

 

[retiredCSguy]

Actually you don't get half of their prison wages necessarily. They can be imputed with the income they were earning before they went to jail. If they receive any inheritances, income from social security, have any property, or do anything to earn income, it can be attached. Some life sentences are commuted and the individual is released. Some life sentences are overturned due to new evidence and the individual is then paid money by the state for being locked up improperly. Some inmates have lawsuits pending in which they receive settlements. Should I continue?

They can be, and more and more states are realizing that imputing income so that inmates are released with massive child suppport arrears is a big factor in criminal recidivism. Thus you're seeing more states consider prison involuntary unemployment and charge the $50 a month minimum. If you're living in a state with a SOL on child support by the time the inmate has served his 25 it's more than likely the support payments are fallen beyond collection. Even if you don't many CSE agnencies don't service inactive cases, so you'd have to pay out of pocket for legal services to try and collect. Probably not a winning bet. As for the falsely accused, (I'd have to look up the case details) but most recently when a man falsely imprisoned for rape was released after DNA evidence cleared him the mother of his adult child tried to get CS out of his settlement with the state and was denied. As for the rest, if living on hope that you're going to fleece some poor SOB that just spent the last few decades in a cage on the off chance it's possible is what gets you through the day then you've problems.

 

[chynna1502]

They can be, and more and more states are realizing that imputing income so that inmates are released with massive child suppport arrears is a big factor in criminal recidivism. Thus you're seeing more states consider prison involuntary unemployment and charge the $50 a month minimum. If you're living in a state with a SOL on child support by the time the inmate has served his 25 it's more than likely the support payments are fallen beyond collection. Even if you don't many CSE agnencies don't service inactive cases, so you'd have to pay out of pocket for legal services to try and collect. Probably not a winning bet. As for the falsely accused, (I'd have to look up the case details) but most recently when a man falsely imprisoned for rape was released after DNA evidence cleared him the mother of his adult child tried to get CS out of his settlement with the state and was denied. As for the rest, if living on hope that you're going to fleece some poor SOB that just spent the last few decades in a cage on the off chance it's possible is what gets you through the day then you've problems.

You really think of the person in jail...what about the poor kids? Frankly if my ex husband screwed up and went to jail, he should owe back support. Just because someone goes to jail doesnt mean thier child doesnt still have to eat

 

[nextwife]

You really think of the person in jail...what about the poor kids? Frankly if my ex husband screwed up and went to jail, he should owe back support. Just because someone goes to jail doesnt mean thier child doesnt still have to eat

Not all who go to jail "screwed up". Sometimes their defense screwed up, or there was sloppy crime lab work that led to a party being falsely convicted.

 

[Ohiogal]

They can be, and more and more states are realizing that imputing income so that inmates are released with massive child suppport arrears is a big factor in criminal recidivism. Thus you're seeing more states consider prison involuntary unemployment and charge the $50 a month minimum. If you're living in a state with a SOL on child support by the time the inmate has served his 25 it's more than likely the support payments are fallen beyond collection. Even if you don't many CSE agnencies don't service inactive cases, so you'd have to pay out of pocket for legal services to try and collect. Probably not a winning bet. As for the falsely accused, (I'd have to look up the case details) but most recently when a man falsely imprisoned for rape was released after DNA evidence cleared him the mother of his adult child tried to get CS out of his settlement with the state and was denied. As for the rest, if living on hope that you're going to fleece some poor SOB that just spent the last few decades in a cage on the off chance it's possible is what gets you through the day then you've problems.

Back up what you are saying with case law quite frankly. Because I can prove what I am saying with my cases. I had a case yesterday where the judge ruled that dad's crime showed he was voluntary choosing to be unemployed. The judge also stated that the individual was lucky he was not imputed with even a higher income that the minimum.