Need your advice and/or opinion

[kaylene99]

I must be getting old because I have posted about this before and don't remember what was said on the responses I got.  Worse, it was a long time ago and I can't find the post on here anymore.  Grrr!

So, here I go again.  Husband's CS order was done in State A.  He was supposed to pay court-ordered child support through a CS Receiver's (not Enforcement) Office.  The CS Receiver's Office does an allotment (not court-ordered deduction or whatever the correct term is) from his paycheck.  To make a long story short, ex wife was in the process of moving at the time and could not provide husband with a bank account number.  He needed this to set up the payment with the CS Receiver's Office.  So, he ended up paying her directly with checks and a couple of wire transfers.  She was actually in favor of this at the time.  All checks were noted with "For child support" and they were all cashed.  We sent copies of cashed checks and wire transfer records to CS Receiver's Office and they added a notation on his account regarding these.   Back then, his account showed that he's in arrearage for the timeframe that he should have been paying through their office but was paying ex wife directly instead.  

We were told by the CS Receiver's Office that they do not deal with arrearages -- they don't report it, they don't collect it, they don't do anything.  If CS is owed, it is up to payee to collect it via a legal process.
They also won't correct the wrong arrearage record on their system because that has to be dealt with legally.

The CS order was done in State A and both parties now live in State B.  Two kids are involved.  When Kid 1 turns 18 or graduates from high school or emancipates, support for that kid is supposed to end according to the CS order.  What is your advice in best handling the change in CS amount that ex wife receives?

Would you:
    (1) Send a certified letter to ex wife referencing change of CS amount according to the CS order as soon as Kid 1 turns 18 or graduates high school or emancipates.  Inform her that according to the CS order, husband will make a change in the CS amount. THEN change the allotment getting drawn from his paycheck.  
     PRO:  No legal costs involved.  Both parties working together.
     CON:  May have legal repercussion on husband's part.  He may have arrearages incorrectly recorded on his CS account although, in reality, he's current and up-to-date.

    (2) Modify CS order through legal course by registering CS order from State A in State B, hiring a lawyer in State B to handle CS change which will then prompt ex wife to hire a lawyer for herself to make sure that she doesn't get the short end of the stick.
     PRO:  Matter is taken care of legally.
     CON:  Both parties will spend huge $$$ to settle matter legally.

So, what would you do if you are in my husband's shoes?  Are there any other holes to this situation that we are failing to see?

Thanks for your response!!!

[leon]

the problem with doing this relies totaly on if this was a court ordered or decreed child support order or Administrative state order, if it was so and there was no stipolations put in it as what the changes were to be when one child reached of age then youre only recourse,( to save youre husband) would be to go to court, which you could do on a Pro se. If you chose not to you run the risk of the Ex going in later and fileing for back support since there was no LEGAL order to change. Now if they entered into this agreemnet mutually without a court order(assuming she, the ex, does not go onto state assistance or medicaid,) you should be under all rights reserved ok. The unfortunate part to this is the states have found ways to tweak the laws(adminstrative laws, that have no force and affect of law) only if you know this and have the cases to prove it, to there advantage, for the sole purpose of collecting revenue, and yes wether or not you use CSED, CSSD or any other administrative agency for collections, you are in there system.
Hope this helps you without being to confusing, its not meant to be, but it can be untill you figure it out.

[ocean]

I would figure it all out legally. Call the old state CSE number and see if they have a case on you and what they say you owe. Then if it is not right, request a court date to deal with emanciapation and past arrears error. It is better to get is all straightened out....:)