Messages

I posted this to Soc, but wanted to get other opinions, etc.

My child support order is in the state of Iowa and I live in Wisconsin. I found out on Friday from the Iowa Department of Revenue that CSRU intercepted my tax return so I called them to question what happened. I was told that they had indeed intercepted it, but the phone rep could not find in the case notes where a notice was sent to me or even why the return was intercepted. I did not receive notice they were intercepting.

I am not delinquent in my child support now and I was not delinquent at the end of tax year 2006. The rep said she would send the info to my worker to see if they could get the hold released, or at least release my wife's share of the return.

The CSRU website states that they must give notice when they inercept a return and that an appeal must be filed within 15 days if I disagree with the interception.

1. Do I have any legal ramifications against CSRU for not following procedure in notifying me that the return was being held?

2. Any other advice?

The review was considered a private action because it was done during a modification of visitation.  It went completely through the courts and lawyers, and CSRU was not involved.  5 months later the ex tried to do another review and modification.  When I called CSRU they claimed that since the earlier review was done as a 'private action' that they had authority to review it again.  When it was reviewed by the court, it was found that there was not a change so CSRU was not notified and the judge's decision was not sent to them, but was filed in the case file.

When I questioned them about the legality of them reviewing again they claimed they could do it, they didn't have to impute the ex's income and that my expense reimbursements could be treated as income.  I asked for documentation of the laws that governed what they claimed.  I spoke to a supervisor that directed me to the CSRU website for the laws, to which I explained were not there.  He said he didn't know the laws that governed what I was asking him.  I then questioned him as to how he could be a supervisor if he didn't know the rules, and he replied that he 'only worked in the call center' so he didn't need to know the laws because they didn't do the actual orders.  That blew my mind!  I always knew they seemed like they didn't know wtf they were talking about, now I have proof!!!  :)

In the end the supervisor had the actual case worker call me.  By this point I was so ticked and was ready to do battle again.  When she called I started to state my case when she politely stopped me to inform me that she pulled the hard copy from our case file and found that the review was indeed done and that it was not appropriate to do it again.  We never received any documentation from CSRU saying the review was denied so a couple weeks later I called again and asked for a copy of the denial.  (I wanted to make sure nothing got screwed up)  The rep said they would send it to me, but wanted to make sure it was 'just for my own records'.  About an hour later the case worker called me directly to confirm the denial was done.  I wonder if she will handle me every time now???  :)

I disagree that inputing the ex's income will not make a difference in the child support calculation as a previous poster stated.  I had my ex's income imputed and it did make a difference in the amount I pay.  A few percentage points can make a big difference.  Also, if the ex's income is zero then you will be responsible for 100% of uncovered medical.  If her earning potential is imputed, then the uncovered medical is based on the percentages of income for each of you.

CSRU told me that they will NOT impute a parent's earning potential.  They claim only a judge can do that, even though it is in Iowa code.  Even after a judge entered the ex's earning potential, CSRU claimed they didn't have to impute because it was done in a private action and not in an action started by their office.  They also claimed they could review again even though it had only been 5 months since the last review, again because the prior review was done in a private action.  I got pushy and didn't back down and it was not reviewed again.

I agree that the money you would pay for a lawyer will save you in the long run.

When you go to court, take documentation with you of what a Legal Secretary makes in her area.  You can do a search and print the info from the Iowa Workforce Development website.  

How much custody do you have?  If you pass the required 127 overnights, make sure you take documentation of that.  Also, make sure you get the credit for uncovered medical ($25/month).  Do you pay medical insurance?  If so, figure what the children's portion is because that is another deduction.  Union dues?

Has your husband's income increased so much that support is doubled?  Or is the difference solely due to the ex not working?  

My lawyer presented a child support worksheet with her earning capacity entered.  During our trial my ex was questioned, by my attorney, about her ability to work and her work searches.  I submitted the IWD printout as part of my evidence.  That was it.  

You can only get the health insurance deduction if the child is covered under the policy.

It wasn't hard to get the judge to impute her earning capacity because the ex testified that she was able to work and had looked for work only very minimally.  In addition she had just finished a temp job a couple months before trial, so that helped to prove she was able to work.  

Does the child she stays home with have any type of disability that requires extra care and that she might try to use as an excuse for not working?  Any other forseable excuses for not working?  If so, do the legwork to rebut what she might try to pull in court.

This is what CSRU told me:

They cannot impute the CP's earning potential, only a judge can do that, so if you want her earning potential entered you will have to appeal it and go to court.

Go to Iowa Workforce Development website.  Find out what the median wage is for a legal secretary (that is what she did, correct?) in your area of the state.  Print off what it says and take it to court.  You can use the figure to prove what her earning potential is.  (If you need help with the search, let me know)

Like I said, CSRU will not impute this number for you, you must go to court to get it done!  Also, don't forget the deductions for uncovered medical ($25.00 a month - my lawyer says everyone gets it) and health insurance (whether paid by your husband or you).

As far as them looking at your income, again according to CSRU, they don't use it to determine the child support amount, but to get a better financial picture in the home.  The actual child support worksheet will include only your husband's income and his ex's income.  Now, if you were loaded with $$$ there is no doubt in my mind they would look at household income to determine child support, but by reading your posts I can see that you aren't sitting on a pot of gold so there is no need to worry about providing your income.  (but I agree it's a crock!)

Make sure when you go to court you have child support guideline worksheets filled out that show her earning potential.  

One more thing, imputing her earning potential will also help lessen your husband's share of the uncovered medical.  (my husband's is 100% responsible for uncovered medical because the ex had negative income after the deduction for her other child.  When the court reviewed support in March (private action) they found no need for an adjustment so even though we had her earning capacity entered, the order didnt' change so he is still 100% responsible for uncovered medical.)

I have never had to pay any out of pocket expenses because my son has title 19 insurance in addition to what I provide (or my wife).

I am not offered health insurance through my employer, so it is not an option for me.  The COBRA coverage from my last job would have cost $800 a month and I couldn't afford that so my wife put us on her insurance.

In Iowa, when you are doing a modification review, you can receive a deduction on your child support worksheet for the health insurance you pay for the child.  I was just wondering if I would be allowed this deduction on the worksheet that determines the child support amount, even though it is paid through my wife's employer.

I am required to have health insurance coverage for my son through my child support order.  My job does not offer health insurance until I have been employed full time for a year, which is not until September.  My wife carries the health insurance for both of us and my son.  The coverage for all three of us costs about $350 a month for health and dental, which is deducted from my wife's paycheck.

My son is in Iowa.  The insurance through my wife's employer will only cover him for emergency or urgent care while he is at his mom's house, however, it will cover prescriptions at major chains in his area.  The dental insurance is usable, but my ex does not use it.

Will I be able to deduct my son's portion of the health insurance coverage paid through my wife's employer?  

Family coverage is the same price for a spouse as it is for spouse and children, will this matter?  (in other words we pay the same for coverage for all three of us as we would if it was just her and I)

Can csru force me to take out insurance from my employer when I am eligible in September?  

Thank You

Does your state have a court website?  In Iowa I can track the ex's court records and see when she has not had her license.  Under 'filings' I can see what court action was taken on whatever case it is.  It will list 'notice of suspension' and 'notice to withdraw suspension'.  She last lost her license in March and got them back in April.  She was transporting my child at that time.  Problem is I just found out about a month ago.  I never thought to look at the 'filings' for a speeding ticket... now I know!

Thank you all very much!  According to the above definitions, I would have to assume she is receiving SSI, which would not be counted as income for her.