re-post hearing -assist attorney gen

[bat-mite]

greatings socrateaser,

pinellas county florida 6th judicial court

bm and I have a final judgement of shared parenting w/bm having primary residence and i pay support, after several years i became unemployed falling behind in child support.


during this time the children were left with me for what was to be 2 weeks, however it turned into out to be 3 months with out any word of the were abouts of bm and when she would return.


several months later CPS placed children in my care with a order for temp child support to be payed to me. a case plan was set up for bm for reunification. bm never complied and never returned to court.

final order was children to remain with me and my child support order was suspended. dept. of revenue was notified of this since the time thechildren were placed with me.

however i continued to get statements from the dispursement unit adding up support. almost two years later i recently recieved a notice of a hearing from the state assist. attorney general filing: a motion to abate child support and establish arrears.

bm has fled the country according to her family members and brother in law who keeps me posted and her  attorney doe not know her were abouts and has had no contact from her.

prior to the children being placed with me i was behind in support.
but, i have had custody of them longer then the length of my unemployment


1. when the state establishes its arrears shouldnt they take in consideration the length of time children have been with me and i not receiving support ordered?




2.if the state ignores the length of time children have been with me, can it be argued that i receive some credit since support is due me as well as former custodial parent?



3.can the state collect arrears on a client that has fled the country and cant be found?


4.does the state have to show that a client still exists and were and to whom the arrears will be sent to?


5.based on the information provided how might i argue that arrears be dismissed?


6.although the judge wrote in his orders that i should receive child support do i or should i apply at the dept of revenue for it?



thank you for your priceless time

[socrateaser]

>1. when the state establishes its arrears shouldnt they take
>in consideration the length of time children have been with me
>and i not receiving support ordered?

The court cannot retroactively modify arrears prior to the date of the last filing of a motion or order to show cause requesting the modfication. So, if you have arrears from before the children were in your care, then you still owe them.

The exact same situation exists for the other parent, i.e., if you have an order for support in your favor against the other parent, then you are entitled to a judgment of arrears in your favor. If the two judgments cancel each other out, then the court will probably give you a set off.

However, the STATE has an independent interest in COLLECTING support, because it receives federal matching dollars for the money it collects. This is why a hearing has been set. I would need to read the State's argument for its motion before commenting further on the motive behind the hearing, or a counterargument, if it is necessary.

>2.if the state ignores the length of time children have been
>with me, can it be argued that i receive some credit since
>support is due me as well as former custodial parent?

See #1, above.

>3.can the state collect arrears on a client that has fled the
>country and cant be found?

Your question suggests the obvious answer.

>4.does the state have to show that a client still exists and
>were and to whom the arrears will be sent to?

If you have a judgment stating that you owe support, then you must pay, unless you move to modify or terminate. You can request an offseting judgment against the other parent for her arrears, and you can ask that the court find the other parent in contempt for not adhering to the judgment of support in your favor, as well as for relinquishing the children to you, which is technically also contempt. Then you can get an award for sanctions.

This is a complex deal -- in order to give you any decent advice, I'd need to read ALL the orders that have been issued, the new motion by the State, and then compare them to your statement of facts, so that I can put the timing straight -- timing, in your case, is everything.

>5.based on the information provided how might i argue that
>arrears be dismissed?

See #1, for a basic argument, but this is way too complex. I don't know how much money is at stake, but if it's more than the cost of an attorney, I'd suggest that you retain one.

>6.although the judge wrote in his orders that i should receive
>child support do i or should i apply at the dept of revenue
>for it?

You may ask the State to collect on your behalf, but what matters is that you already have a support order, so that you can get a setoff for any unpaid support that has accrued since that order was made.

Obviously, if the other parent never returns, then eventually, her support arrears should completely extinguish all of yours.