Settling on arrears.

[olanna]

Hi Soc,

My CO is in SC and I live in CA.  I have an outstanding balance owed in arrears that I want to offer a settlement to my ex.  Is it possible to offer less than what CSE says I owe, if my ex agrees to it and have the arrears cleared up through the court?

I pay CS through the courts in the form of a money order every month, as I own my own business.  


Thanks,

Olanna

[olanna]

Hi Soc,

My CO is in SC and I live in CA.  I have an outstanding balance owed in arrears that I want to offer a settlement to my ex.  Is it possible to offer less than what CSE says I owe, if my ex agrees to it and have the arrears cleared up through the court?

I pay CS through the courts in the form of a money order every month, as I own my own business.  


Thanks,

Olanna

[socrateaser]

>Hi Soc,
>
>My CO is in SC and I live in CA.  I have an outstanding
>balance owed in arrears that I want to offer a settlement to
>my ex.  Is it possible to offer less than what CSE says I owe,
>if my ex agrees to it and have the arrears cleared up through
>the court?

Yes you can offer and compromise, unless the payments are being made to CSE to reimburse the State of SC for providing public assistance to the custodial parent (welfare).

But, in order to make the offer reasonable, you must be offering something that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do, i.e., you offer to pay less now IN FULL, in order to get out of having to pay more later IN PAYMENTS. If all you're doing is asking for a break on the exact same terms as would exist if you didn't get the break, then the court/CSE will never sign off on your offer.

[olanna]

Thanks, Soc.

"But, in order to make the offer reasonable, you must be offering something that you wouldn't otherwise be able to do, i.e., you offer to pay less now IN FULL, in order to get out of having to pay more later IN PAYMENTS. If all you're doing is asking for a break on the exact same terms as would exist if you didn't get the break, then the court/CSE will never sign off on your offer."

Exactly. My rate of paying off arrears is set by the court at $30 a month for the rest of my life, I think.  I want to offer a lump sum payment of $10K, have the arrears wiped away and end CS. (My son is 16 years old). My current order is $215 a month, including the payment for arrears.

And my payments are not being made to reimburse for welfare, as Dad has never been on welfare.

:)