How To Dispute Child Support Arrears

advice on divorceQuestion:

I owed back child support and have paid off the amount that was ordered by the court, including interest.

The child support enforcement agency is now telling me that there was a “glitch” in their system and that there is a zero balance but a $5,000 interest payment due now.

Do I have a leg to stand on or am I going to have to pay it because of their mistake?

Answer:

This answer only includes general divorce help for men since I am only licensed to practice in Oklahoma and am thus unable to provide legal advice on divorce.

You certainly have a leg to stand on. You will need to show that a valid court order set the amount of child support arrearages you owed and that you have paid according to the order.

You will likely need to produce copies of both the order and any checks or other receipts showing the payments you made. If the agency is persistent in its pursuit of additional interest payments you may have to fight back. You shouldn’t have to pay for their “glitch.”

How Much Should You Be Paying?

Child Support Calculators

You should seek the advice of an experienced family law attorney, such as the ones with Cordell & Cordell, in order to identify and evaluate your options for fighting the agency’s attempts to saddle you with an additional $5,000 in debt after you’ve already paid what was required by the court.

To set up an appointment with a Cordell and Cordell mens divorce attorney, including Oklahoma City Divorce Lawyer Christian D. Barnard, please contact Cordell & Cordell.

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5 comments on “How To Dispute Child Support Arrears

    I’ve been paying child support for 17 years and the last 8 years though the child support enforcement. the first nine years it was direct pay and I paid every week and month including a portion of my income tax as she defrauded the government for $53.000 so I gave her $4,000 to $5,000 every year. She has not work since 1992 as a Nurse or any other job. When I ask to have my son removed after he turned 19 and had graduated from high school I received a letter from child support enforcement that I now owe $74.000 in back pay since I did not pay her prior to their enforcement. I’m like, “Really.”
    My receipts are long since gone after a flood destroyed everything back in 2009. I keep being told I need receipts. Is there some chance I can impeach her in court since I know she’s lying. However, to date there’s no lawyer willing to touch this.

    My name is Peggy Geminn I am disputing my child support arrrarage my case number is o2d135 I was incarcerated from June 2015 till April 2016 I had a lawyer stop all child support payments while I was is custody my youngest son is 18 the judge in dekalb county where my divorce took place agreed with it can u please take that arrrarage off my case n my kids now live with me any questions please call me at 224 522 2492 please let me know what’s going on i want this off my credit report n i feel I was overpayed thank u

    My question is similar. In our divorce decree, I’m ordered to pay $200/month (we have 50/50 custody). Our decree also states that we are “direct pay” which means from myself to her. This is what I have been doing since our divorce in October 2016. I have never missed a payment. My ex is a convicted felon for assault and served jail time in April 2015 due to a probation violation for harassing myself and my wife. In July (2015) I gave my ex a check for $400 and wrote “July and August” in the memo. I paid her a month ahead so that she could use it for school shopping for my boys. Early August I received a notice that my support now had a case number through the state and that I was behind $200 for July. Of course, by the time I got the letter, It showed that I owed for August also. I talked with support officials and they said to mail in the check with her signature showing that it was cashed. Two days later, I received a letter stating that since I had a child support case now open that anything I gave my ex after that was considered a gift. They said that they mailed me a letter in June to notify me of this, however, I never received anything and am now showing an arrears of $400 when I actually paid ahead in order to help my sons. I am very frustrated because 1. If a letter was sent, why wasn’t it sent certified so that it would ensure that I received it? 2. How, when there is a court order saying that we are direct pay, can they switch it on me especially when I’ve never missed a payment to her? They keep telling me to have her sign off on the $400, however, they don’t understand that she will never do anything to help me. Especially since her felony case was up for review at the beginning of August (before I got the arrears notice) and me and my wife were the victims and main witnesses to her parole violation. There is no way that she will sign off. I just can not believe that even though I have proof (divorce decree and cashed check) that I can’t get help in this matter, especially when the state has no proof that they sent me a letter and that the ball is totally in her court. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

    I think there is a very bad mistake in my child support payments every month I have been paying back child support for over 20 years and there’s no way I should be 17.000$ behind on back child support and they are taking 50 percent of my social security check every month since January 1st 1996

    I had and am still having a problem with the child support division over money that was garnished above the amount allowed by law during times of unemployment . State law capped the amount deducted for 2 children at 25% but for 3 years they with held my standard $200.00 payment from my unemployment that ranged from $216.00 to $246.00 in that 3 year period . Shortly after this began i got an attorney and got a court order stating they can only with hold the maximum of 25% , which was ignored for 18 months past the date the order was filed. I repeatedly requested statements of all transactions , all were ignored . Next my oldest-ed daughter , then 12 contacted the police , stating her mother had been mentally abusing her and her sister and wanted to live with me.I filled a request to terminate support that week. It took 4 months but was signed and filled, yet the deduction continued for 14 months. With these 2 issues there was over $10.000.00 in over charger. Yet they refused return the money and ignored my requests for a statement. Finally 1 1/2 years before my youngest graduated and turned 18 my ex kicked her out and she moved in to my home and i filled a request to terminate support for her and i filled a request for support and insurance as i had lost my job and only had 6 month of insurance remaining. 18 month later i received a notice that my requests had been denied. Before my insurance lapsed i sent the caseworker a confirmation letter that my daughter was covered under my ex’s insurance at no additional cost to her.Of that 18 months i paid 6 months support leaving 12 months unpaid. For a total of 12 month or $4.800.00 . When subtracted from $10.000.00 (the amount i was over charged there is still $5.200.00 extra remaining. And yes i have all the paperwork including pay stubs to prove it. I filled for my pension in 2012 only to find all but the minimum remained.The DA refuses to acknowledge they got the money , my union refuses to acknowledge they dispersed the money but i have been able to uncover doc’s indicating an assignment attached to my divorce records . One the year i turn 55 (age for early retirement and another the year i filled for my retirement. There is much more i haven’t discussed here that involve crimes that were committed upon me and allegations and slander about me such as the fact i found that i was a registered sex offender. Is there anyway i can get my day in court to present my evidence, I forgot to mention , i am unable to hire an attorney , They won’t work for me . With what all that has happened and from all i have read it seems likely that a guardianship order has been enacted upon me . If you can suggest something i would appreciate it .
    Jerry

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