Will I be arrested?

[trigger1969]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? New York


O K this is complicated. Between 1990 and 1997 I lived in New York. I was married and had a child with my American wife (I am British). After a short period of time I discovered that my wife was using drugs and so I left her. Despite my protests the courts decided that my son should stay with his mother. My ex wife made life extremely difficult but I paid child support and continued to see my son for a couple of years after the split. In 1997 my grandmother in England became ill and I returned home to help with her care. Due to the facts that I was only working part-time and that wages in Britain compared to the States are very low, I was unable to continue to pay my child support. This was the opportunity that my ex was waiting for. The contact with my son was stopped and I have not heard from him since (I still live in England).

I understand that my ex wife quickly filed for non-payment of child support resulting in a warrant being issued against me. I would have loved to stay in touch with my son but I was and am afraid to return to the States because of the arrest warrant.

Would the warrant still be active after such a long period of time? Can I get the warrant removed? If I return to the States will I be thrown in jail? Would the immigration authorities have me on a list of people to arrest? Would I even be able to visit the States?

These questions may sound illogical but I am a law-abiding person who has never been in trouble with the police. I am willing to pay any fines and outstanding child support but I do not know whom to contact. I would appreciate any help. I love and miss my son.

 

[BL]

Are you saying you could pay all the back support at once ? Don't you know what County Family Court made the Order ?
Was the Support Payments made through the Collection Agency ?
The CS Collection Agency headquarters are in Albany, but you would want to pay through where you were ordered.Each county would have their own collection unit .

It was most likely a Bench warrant . This would insure you showed in Court.
If you can pay it off do so. Ask for a print out of your payments afterwords .
I imagine the enforcement unit also has the warrant info , and the docket # for the warrant. If they gave it to you you could send proof of payment to the records Dept. to have it put in record.

I'm not sure how long bench warrants are good for , but if you pay the debt off, you should be OK .

 

[trigger1969]

thank you

First of all thank you for your quick response.

I am now in a position to pay a substantial amount although I am not sure exactly how much I owe. My payments were always made directly to my ex wife and not through any collection agency. I do not know what decision the courts made about payments in my absence. Most regretfully, once I heard that the warrant had been issued I panicked and have not been back to the States since. The family court was in Nassau County. Would that be the court that I should contact for information? I was thinking about hiring a lawyer to find out whether the warrant is still active. Would a lawyer be able to find out?

Once again thanks

 

[snodderly]

Call the Nassau County Court Clerk's office and tell them your name. They will tell you what, if any warrants are out there and what you need to do to clear them up.

They will be able to tell you exactly what amount you owe and where to send the money. If they can't give you the info they will be able to direct you to someone who can.

May I suggest you get this matter taken care of and get back in touch with your son. Your fear of retribution from the court system is nothing compared to the emotional pain a son feels over his father's abandonment. You need to get busy making things up to this child and NOW.
snodderly

 

[BL]

You could at least consult a Lawyer for a small fee . I do know there has been a law into effect that if your behind 2 months or more, the State can suspend licenses,freeze bank account,cars,ETC.

The last poster gave you some good advice though, your relationship with your child is more important . If you can show a real effort and pay a substantial amount , maybe you could Petition the Court for modification and have so much of your remaining arrears included with your monthly payments .

Nassau County would be the place to start .

 

[trigger1969]

You guys are so right about the relationship with my son. That is the exact reason I need to find out about the arrest warrant. I realise that I have been no use to him for the last seven years and I want to change that in the future. However I would be worse than useless to him locked up in jail. I will take action once I know one way or the other. Thanks for your honest and helpful guidance. I have already contacted a lawyer in the States and I am dialling the Nassau County Courts right now.