What to do when you fall on hard times

Question: I am writing on behalf of my ex-husband. Currently we both live in California, but the issue at hand is centered in Oregon.

In a nutshell, when my husband and I separated (we have one child together), he had a one night stand with a local resident. Fast forward 11 years. He was contacted about a year ago by Oregon child support services, and was informed for the first time that he had another child, (paternity was established), and was liable for $18,000 in back child support, and a current monthly child support amount was also established. In the past couple months, due to circumstances with work, he had fallen into arrears with the payments, and had been sending partial payments. He has been paying his mortgage payments by credit card, is in debt, and his nightmare continues.

According to my ex, (I can't remember what agency) he has been contacted again by letter informing him that they will pull his drivers license along with his contractors license if he does not make his payments current. This makes absolutely no sense to me due to the fact that if he can't drive or work legally as a plumber, then it makes it even more so impossible for him to make any income. I might add that apparently, the mother of his one nighter is a welfare mom, has free HUD housing, and has had a long term relationship with another man along with a couple more kids. They live comfortably, and maintain separate addresses as to not jeopardize the financial gravy train that the government supplies to them.

I do not collect spousal or child support from him, and we have joint equal custody of our son for what it's worth.

So my question is, who can he go to for help to sort out this mess? He can't afford an attorney at the moment, and the distance makes it difficult to deal with. Thank you in advance for any suggestions I can pass on to him.

Answer: He needs to file a Motion to Modify child support. I am not licensed to practice law in Oregon, so I cannot specifically answer the question to the laws of that State.

Most States have a provision for allowing an administrative review and modification of child support. The agency in question oddly enough is often the same agency that is enforcing the current child support order. There is usually no fee for the agency to review if a modification is warranted. Many parents paying support are reluctant to seek help from the organization that is hounding them for child support. If that is true in the present situation, your ex-husband would need to file for a modification of child support through the court where the child resides.

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