Deadbeat Bureaucracy

The child support enforcement bureaucracy is in no position to cast stones. As in the rest of the Domestic Relations Process, they are destroying peoples lives.

The enforcement agency often makes mistakes, they made 5 in my case alone.

Unless you keep checking with them, your first indication is a pleasantly worded letter containing threats and a demand for payment. The payment amount and how it is derived is not included. The concept of a statement (like any other biller has done for years) is a completely foreign concept. No one would accept this error rate, lack of billing information and threats from any other biller.

They say that they are not allowed to fix mistakes by law, no matter how they were made, or even if you show them proof of payment or error.

I'm told they often don't start the collections at the right time. Instead of reading the support order they arbitrarily start it when they want to. They usually start you off too early, so you're already a deadbeat. Hey, in my case they were only several thousand off.

When they seize assets, it's because you owe them right? Wrong, they seize whatever they can get, completely unrelated to what is owed. The seizer and the person who knows what you owe don't speak. In my case they seized 2.5 years worth. Well at least my son was taken care of right? Wrong again, he didn't see a nickel for 6 months, because my wife refused to agree to release the funds. That way I stayed in arrears. Then she filed criminal charges to have me put in jail. Didn't the lawyers & court straighten it out? You'd think so, they spent months playing games with my son's money. Too bad someone wasn't looking out for him, ah but there was a Guardian to look out for his best interest, she also came to these hearings to join in the games.

How was this going to be fixed, I fired my lawyer for this incompetence. There was another hearing scheduled to determine if I would be allowed to fire my own lawyer, the judge refused. At the next hearing I informed the bailiff, just prior to it starting, to hand the judge a note saying that I was not properly represented, that my counsel was hostile, and my right to due process was being violated. Finally the judge let me in chambers (you wouldn't believe what goes on...). In 30 minutes I caused it all to be resolved. How? By bringing evidence of my wife's lawyer's lies (see in chambers no one is under oath, they can and do lie).

The final deal, first take the legal fees out of the 30 months worth of support. My lawyer got 10 months worth for his poor representation and the Guardian got 5 months for looking out for my son's best interest (um, sarcasm here). There was another 5 months taken out for some joint marital debt leaving only 1/3 left over for child support.

The back child support, now up to 5 months was paid directly to my wife. This was not communicated to the enforcement agency so they have relabeled me a deadbeat. My choice, suffer the penalties or pay 5 months support that I don't have or owe.

Our state calculates support once a month. If you are paid some other way, weekly, biweekly, etc. You are always either ahead or behind, if you're behind (no fault of your own, depends on your employer) and a seizeable event occurs, your assets will be seized and held as mine were.

If you loose your job or income is reduced, you will be required to pay the previous amount for at least 6 months before an adjustment is considered.

So the next time you hear about a deadbeat, ASK was it Dad or the Bureaucracy?

Did he even owe it at all? In my case it was a deadbeat system, with deadbeat lawyers and even a deadbeat Guardian.

The end result is that all this has beat me up beyond recognition.

That's the real definition of a Deadbeat Dad, someone who has been beating himself against the Deadbeat Bureaucracy.

Dads don't leave, they're beaten by the bureaucracy and chased away.