Make BM pay CS?

[amanda]

 Background: SO went to court in Jan. and was awarded full physical custody. BM said she was in school (a lie) and was told she didn't have to pay CS.
 We went back to court last week to fight for CS and other parenting plan modifications and the Judge wouldn't even talk, just said "go to mediation" and that was all.
 The problem is we have already been to mediation and BM didn't show.

My questions are:
 IS there any other way we can get CS? Does it have to be court ordered? Will they make her pay back payments if we can prove she lied at the first court apperanc about being in school?

Also we have BM on tape harassing and threatening SO (in front of SS and she admits this in the tape).
Will it help our case if SO gets a restraining order?

[socrateaser]

You must follow the mandatory forum posting guidelines if you want responses in the future. Your question is short, so I'll answer this time, but don't count on it in the future.

>My questions are:
> IS there any other way we can get CS?

File a motion to modify support. Custody and Support are different issues, and if you have only filed for custody, then the court has no authority to consider the issue of child support until you file a motion to modify support.

Does it have to be court ordered?

Yes.

Will they make her pay back payments if we can
>prove she lied at the first court apperanc about being in
>school?

In my experience, being in school is not a legal basis for being relieved of the duty of paying child support. I am not certain why the judge would make such an order, however, you should have appealled it, because it's entirely without legal basis.

However, if you can prove that the court's order was based on a lie, that is, prove with objective third party evidence, like a letter from the mother's supposed school, stating that mother is not enrolled and never applied for enrollment in the school, then the court could accept this as clear and convincing evidence of fraud, and set aside its prior order, and thereby award support arrears to you. This is not an easy thing to prove -- you will probably need to subpoena someone from the school to come and testify at a hearing.

>
>Also we have BM on tape harassing and threatening SO (in front
>of SS and she admits this in the tape).
>Will it help our case if SO gets a restraining order?

First, your tape may not be admissible, and your making it may even be a criminal act for which you can be prosecuted. I would need to know the exact nature of the taped evidence (where it was made, how it was made, in what jurisdiction it was made, and what exactly it says).

Briefly, if this admission was made on a voice mail message, then you have done nothing wrong, and the evidence is probably admissible. If the tape was made in some other manner, it's probably not admissible, and may get you into some hot water if you try to have it admitted.

As far as the restraining order itself goes, I don't see the relevance to obtaining child support, however, as an award of a restraining order might provide proof of the other parent's mental instability, that could weigh in your favor in obtaining primary custody.

[amanda]

 Will the same judge that hears our custody case decide on CS case?

And thank you, very much, I wish the attorneys we paid were half as informative as you are!

[socrateaser]

> Will the same judge that hears our custody case decide on CS
>case?

Yes.

[socrateaser]

> Will the same judge that hears our custody case decide on CS
>case?

Yes.