Change On Federal Benefits Payments Could Leave Child Support Debtors With No Income

[SkyDaddy7]

113. But there lies a HUGE problem...

To get child support modified you need a lawyer because otherwise the Judge is not going to listen to anything you have to say. That is how it works in Georgia...If you show up to a custody hearing or a child support hearing without a lawyer the Judge will not only deny your request but force you to pay the ex-spouse legal fees. Once you get behind it is nearly impossible to catch up.

I had a close friend who was making 90K a year & paying child support on time never late...Then the recession hit & he lost his job. Then he was on unemployment which half went to his ex-wife for child support. Then 8 months later he took a job making 45K & he went to get his child support modified & against advice from my wife & I & several others in the know he went into court without a lawyer. He was not only denied modification but he had to pay his ex-wife's legal fees. Then his ex-wife took him back to court to get the court to force him to pay her the difference missing from the time he was on unemployment & she won. If it were not for his parents he would have ended up in jail. Now he is back to making 75K but still paying on 90K. He is almost back to a point where he can hire a lawyer to try & get a modification. To make things worse the mother of his child moved to Chicago & there was nothing he could do about it. Now he has to pay for transportation for himself or his sons every two weeks which is very expensive. The Mother made 70K company car with nice bonuses. None of which is even considered when it comes time to decide child support.

I know there are some very disgusting so-called fathers out there who do not do what they should but there are also huge flaws in the system as well.

Child custody & child support decisions should be made by a panel of people who work in family matters not just one Judge.

I am speaking of what happens in Georgia as that is all I know...My wife & I both worked for lawyers who practiced Domestic Law.