Support owed despite order

[Jakesmom917]

What is the name of your state? NC

I just won a settlement and custody case. In the agreement it states the my son's father HAS to pay support until his wages are garnished. It was just signed at the begining of this month. It states that he has to pay from November until it gets garnished. He has stated that although he has signed the agreement, he cannot and will not pay support because he "just doesnt have it". Can I take him back to court for contempt and if I did what are the chances he would go to jail? What other options does he have? Thanks!

 

[Momof3b1g]

RE: support owed despite order

NC

I just won a settlement and custody case. In the agreement it states the my son's father HAS to pay support until his wages are garnished. It was just signed at the begining of this month. It states that he has to pay from November until it gets garnished. He has stated that although he has signed the agreement, he cannot and will not pay support because he "just doesnt have it". Can I take him back to court for contempt and if I did what are the chances he would go to jail? What other options does he have? Thanks!

Sorry I dont have much advice for you here in NC..only thing I can say is good luck. I have been fighting with the NCD and CSE for almost 10 years on CS issues. he doesnt pay and they dont care. I wouldnt hold out much hope of them doing anything, the chances of him going to jail are between slim and none. the NCD in my case is almost $30,000 behind and still roams the streets, they know where he lives, where he works etc..in fact they have only pulled him into court 1 time in the last 9 plus years.

 

[Grace_Adler]

I don't know about Charlotte or your county momof3, but I can name at least 6 counties in Eastern NC that if he was served for the hearing and showed up for contempt, he would be put in jail for 30 days automatically and probably have his license suspended.

Momof3, is it possible that they have been having a hard time serving him even though they know where he works and lives? If he hasn't been served, that's probably why it hasn't gone to court.

CSE is also backed up. They have more cases then workers. There are thousands of cases out there. I've seen them get many results however.

Jakesmom, if your ex was court ordered to pay support, he can not just stop paying. I mean he can, but if he does he is in contempt and yes you can take him to court for it if it is more then 30 days late. If Charlotte is like it is here, he will go to jail for 30 days or until he pays it, whichever comes first and there is a good chance they will suspend his license. Be aware however, he can't pay from jail and during the time he is incarcerated, he is not responsible for paying child support during that time.

There is a very good chance he would lose his job too and then he will get even further behind looking for work because they probably aren't going to want to hold his position til he gets out.

If his wages are not getting garnished, I would see why. When was the employer sent the wage withholding information? They only have 10 or 14 days to comply from the date they recieve it, I forget which one. If they aren't withholding and it's past time, they are responsible for paying it.

I forgot to add that there is a website you can look up guidelines on and your case if it is with CSE, if you didn't already know of this site.

www.ncchildsupport.com

 

[nextwife]

Maybe I read this wrong, but this is a new order, right? A garnishment is being processed and the CS will come out of wages as soon as processing is completed. He said he doesn't have money for an interviening period to pay out at this moment? Or did I read it wrong.

Problem is, if the CS is going to start shortly and you send him to jail now and cost him his job, are you really cutting your own throat? Will he be paying toward this amount when the CS starts out of garnishment? Can you ask CSE to be sure to include the other amount owed- the monthly payments plus the period prior to the order?

 

[Jakesmom917]

Yes. He signed the agreement knowing he had to pay support from november until it gets garnished. Now he is saying he doesnt have it.

 

[haiku]

honestly you have garnishment in place and in the works. I wouldn't go crazy, yet.

keep track of what he is owing you, and call CSE and see about having it added to the garnishment.

 

[tammy8]

Shut I live in NC and it took the state almost 14 monthes to start garnishing wages but I always sent a check to the state every week faithly. Somehow the state thinks my husband is $125.00 behind and is busting his chops over that!!!

Good luck and sign up for the nc childsupport site and worry the immoral heck out of your case worker.

PS the case workers are really far behind because my husband's cs changed in Dec 2000 and it has taken this long to find out about the $125.00(which my husband totally disagrees with since all payments have been made!!!)!

I live near Mecklenburg county and KNOW that county is totally out of control.

 

[Momof3b1g]

Momof3, is it possible that they have been having a hard time serving him even though they know where he works and lives? If he hasn't been served, that's probably why it hasn't gone to court.

CSE is also backed up. They have more cases then workers. There are thousands of cases out there. I've seen them get many results however.


No they have no problem serving him, they problem is they dont bother. I have called on several occasions when he is months behind and had the worker tell me well if we put him in jail then you wont get any money anyway so whats the difference. This past summer was the first time they bothered filing a failure to comply order against him since we opened the case in 1994.
Gaston County works for the NCP not the CP..I have been dealing with them for almost 10 years and it is always the same go around. When you call them and leave a message they dont call you back..you have to call daily till you get someone to even discuss your case, when you finally talk to someone they act like you are bothering them.
The worker just recently did a change of venue that i asked for 8 years ago when I moved from Gaston to Lincoln county and they wouldnt hear of it..so now until the change goes through she says there is nothing she can do to help us. So once again he gets away with not paying but is the standard in this area..I know of many people in gaston county that have not gotten any results with CSE and I swear if I could swing it I would get a lawyer and tell CSE to go up a rope.
I know they have alot of clients but they could at least act like they care when you call.

 

[Grace_Adler]

It's not just you or your area or the fact you're a CP. They treat everyone like crap, trust me. I know exactly what you're talking about. If the NCP has a problem, they don't want to talk to you or care either. Most of the people working there are pretty nasty over the phone and sometimes in person too. Hell, I've found most of the people in this state act that way over everything, not just CSE. Everyone acts like it is such a bother to talk to you or help you. I always tell people "If you hate your job so much and if you're going to act like it is such a bother to help me or talk to me, then don't. Go find someone else to do it and why don't you go find another job that you like better while you're at it?" I think in your case, it is not so much they are for the NCP but rather they are just too lazy to do their job and tired of it. Then there are some people who are just plain jerks anyway and difficult to deal with. I don't think it's because they are playing favorites though, unless your caseworker just happens to be biased.

Have you tried asking them about income tax interception? They should already be doing that if he's not working under the table.

How about liens?

If you lived in the Eastern part of the state, you might get more results. They are usually pretty fast here about getting people served and taking them to court as long as they know where to find them. If they don't know where to find them, they can't get them served.

You could actually file yourself for the contempt of court if you wanted and pay the Sheriff like $5 or whatever it is to have him served. You can download the paperwork online or go to the courthouse and get it.

Also, have you tried calling the regional office and complaining about them?

I'd also write our Senator, Congressman and Attorney General about them.

 

[NC_Dad]

It took 18 months after the order was signed before my garnishment took effect. I also live in NC. The CSE is very slow and they have been sending me tax intercept notices every 6 months. They claim I am $800 behind, but my calculations show I am current! They also intercepted my tax refund last year for over $2,000 and still send me notices that I am still not current. Be patient and keep calling. Good luck.