Threat of Contempt / Your turn, my turn.

[JIMJO]

My ex and I were in a legal battle for a year just so that I could see my daughter for a weekly dinner visit and the occasional weekend visit. My child support increased and I was supposed to pay the retroactive. I have never missed a child support payment however I was told by my lawyer to wait until the ex contacted me about the retroactive and ask if I can use a payment schedule. Long story short, things went from bad to worse.  I had to petition her back to court to get my visitation again. I am pro se and the action is still pending. I recieved a letter from her lawyer today stating:

It is my understanding that there was an award of support that was retroactive and as a result you owe the sum of X.
To avoid the necessity of my office filing an order to show cause for contempt which will seek an application for attorney's fees, please forward a check emmediately in the amount of X made payable to ex.
I am in NYS

1) If I write her attorney back and offer to make payments due to my financial situtation and intend to pay, will I still be under the threat of contempt?

2) Can she charge me interest?

3)I don't want to go to jail and I don't want my wages garnished. How much can really be done to me at a contempt hearing since I have never missed a suport payment?

4) I have had a baby born in the last year, bought a house and have also remarried, are these "Qualifying events" that would reduce my child support?

5) Should I threaten, politely, that a reduction in child support be in order
if I am forced to go in to debt to pay this amount in one lump sum?

6) She still owes me 500$ in Maintenence fees from 1999 when she remarried and did'nt tell me so she could collect such maintenance, can I bring this up now?

7) Can these letters be held against me in my child visitation hearing?

[socrateaser]

>1) If I write her attorney back and offer to make payments due
>to my financial situtation and intend to pay, will I still be
>under the threat of contempt?

Yes.

>
>2) Can she charge me interest?

Yes.

>
>3)I don't want to go to jail and I don't want my wages
>garnished. How much can really be done to me at a contempt
>hearing since I have never missed a suport payment?

If you were ordered to pay and you willfully failed to pay, then you can be put in jail. However, as a practical matter, this would destroy your ability to earn money to pay, so the court will more likely approve orders to seize your assets as necessary to obtain the money. Nevertheless, if you lose the contempt motion, you will get stuck with a bigger attorney fee award against you, and that will make it even harder to pay the bill.

>4) I have had a baby born in the last year, bought a house and
>have also remarried, are these "Qualifying events" that would
>reduce my child support?

Not where I come from. I can't say re NY state law, but I'll bet not.

>5) Should I threaten, politely, that a reduction in child
>support be in order if I am forced to go in to debt to pay this amount in one lump sum?

Do you earn less now, such that a guideline calculation would decrease your support obligation? If not, then your threat is hollow, and opposing counsel will know it.

>6) She still owes me 500$ in Maintenence fees from 1999 when
>she remarried and did'nt tell me so she could collect such
>maintenance, can I bring this up now?

That depends on a host of issues specific to NY state law that I would need to research. At a minimum you would need to file a motion for a judgment against her for the overpayment on grounds of unjust enrichment, and because so much time has passed, she could possibly use a laches defense, that you have unreasonably delayed and the delay has unfairly prejudiced her. I actually doubt the likelihood of this defense, but I bring it up as a possibility. Anyway, as I said, you must raise this as a separate issue -- it is not a defense to your failure to pay.

>7) Can these letters be held against me in my child visitation
>hearing?

Depends on what the letters say and what they are offerred to prove. They cannot generally be used to demonstrate your liaiblity, but a visitation hearing is not about liability, so it's quite possible that the letters could be introduced. The question would be are the letters relevant to prove anything related to visitation? And, that I can't say, because I've never read them.

[JIMJO]

 My tax refund is being held up because she filed against a court order that states she was supposed to allow me to claim my daughter in the even years.

1)How can I prove this?



2) I can start making payments today but I cannot pay the lump sum right now. I have'nt sent any letters yet. How you do recommend I handle this?

[socrateaser]

>
> My tax refund is being held up because she filed against a
>court order that states she was supposed to allow me to claim
>my daughter in the even years.
>
>1)How can I prove this?

I don't understand your comment above. Regardless, if there is some issue related to you obtaining a tax refund from which you will be able to pay your arrears, then I can't imagine your opponent refusing to stipulate to its release, by court order, or notice to the IRS, on the condition that she gets her fair share.

>2) I can start making payments today but I cannot pay the lump
>sum right now. I have'nt sent any letters yet. How you do
>recommend I handle this?

You can  send a written offer to opposing counsel stating how much you would be willing to pay in a lump sum, and how much you would be willing to make as payments, in return for which, your opponent will stipulate to dismiss the comtempt motion, with prejudice.

[JIMJO]

Thank you for your help. I can live with the solution you suggested. I just hope she can.

[JIMJO]

Ok I have taken your advice and wrote a letter to her attorney. Now I would like to attempt a reduction in child support by taking her to court myself. You mentioned that my starting a new family is not grounds for a reduction. Ok, so when I became divorced I was single, paying maintenance until the ex married and was then only supporting my daughter. I had to move in with my parents to survive this. When my wife and I bought the house, we borrowed the money for the down payment from my mother, and my wife was working, but now she is the only child care provider for our infant son. We don't want to put our child in daycare. The last tax return had both our incomes on it. But she only works part time now, about a 1/4 of what she made before. We have taken out a loan on our house, refinanced our car and borrowed money from relatives to pay off the lawyers from our last litigation. Also, I have no contact with my daughter, who I am supporting. The ex married a wealthy man so their standard of living is much higher than when we were married. She even recieved an inheritence, but denied recieving income in court. She does'nt work, she stays at home with their 3 kids. Even so, when I remarried and moved on with my life, she upped the child support to the max right when I got back from my Honeymoon. I want to be prepared before I do this so I don't walk out of there paying more. I know this is a longshot, but I have to try. My Support payment is more than my mortgage and we are going broke!


1 Will they go by last years joint tax return and use my wife's income in their calculation of how much child support I should pay?



2 As I said I always pay my support, will the fact that I am making payments on the arrears  but am not paid in full be held against me?



3 Is there ANYTHING that you see in the above information that would help you advise me how I should proceed and get the reduction? Help!


4 How can I avoid paying her lawyer fees which she always asks for?

[socrateaser]

>1 Will they go by last years joint tax return and use my
>wife's income in their calculation of how much child support I
>should pay?

The court will use your separate income, unless it finds that you are intentionally un(der)employing yourself in order to avoid paying more support.

>2 As I said I always pay my support, will the fact that I am
>making payments on the arrears  but am not paid in full be
>held against me?

No.

>3 Is there ANYTHING that you see in the above information that
>would help you advise me how I should proceed and get the
>reduction? Help!

I am not an expert in NY law, but a parent's primary obligation is to the children of prior relationships, and although the court could find a deviation from guideline support if it concluded that your new child would be seriously harmed by paying guideline support to the parent of your previously conceived minor child, it's a longshot, unless you and your new wife's combined income is well below the poverty line as determined by NY Department of Health and Human Services (don't ask me what this number is -- contact the welfare department).

However, in as much as you have stated that you have purchased a home, I think it's fair to say that your income is nowhere near that level. So, my conclusion is that you have no case, and that you're wasting your resources attempting to lower your support obligation, on any grounds other than involuntary unemployment.


>4 How can I avoid paying her lawyer fees which she always asks
>for?

Attorney fees are based on need and ability to pay. If you can show that your need is greater than hers and that she has the ability to pay, you can avoid the fees. As a practical matter, this is almost impossible for a paying parent, unless the other parent is quite well off financially. You mentioned that she has a very wealthy new spouse, so that's a possible argument, i.e., she doesn't work and her new hubby pays all the bills -- something like that -- but, you'll need to prove it, and that would mean subpoenaing the new husband and his financials, unless your ex filed tax returns jointly last year and her tax return demonstrates just how much her new husband earns.