need help getting child support from deadbeat mom

[noodleroo]

I don't know anything about MO laws but usually when a court order comes from a different state, you want to ask for an 'exemplified' or 'authenticated' copy. It is an extra measure of certification where the clerk certifies that the copy is an exact copy of the order in the file, then there is a section where the judge certifies that the clerk is the actual clerk AND another section where the clerk certifies tha the judge is the judge. (I know, I know...) The child support envorcement agency there in MO may request this to start a case, but if you are going to the trouble to get a copy from Kansas, you might as well get what they need. Once the MO agency files a case, they will likely file a UIFSA, a forein judgment (just from another state) in the mom's state of residence. That way CA has jurisdiction to enforce the original Kansas order. It sounds complicated, but it really is just paperwork. The lawyers in the MO enforcement office do this sort of thing all the time and know exactly what to do, so don't worry...

 

[axxell33]

Quote:
This typical for any state/gov run agency. Slow is the name of the game.. and don't worry about them withholding information or not being informative. You have to pry it out of them. They spend most of their day complaining about their job and how they are under paid.

wait till they get a hold of our healthcare.. but that's another post.

I misread that you were actually living in MO. That's why I was referencing the Kansas material..

here's some general but very helpful info from the Missouri Bar. They lay out some general guidelines and offer some contact information.

http://www.mobar.org/d6384cd7-d558-4eb5-8b32-c39865e63056.aspx

 

[phaethona]

Quote:
So essentially CA will be enforcing MO's law? (I'm sure they're about the same) or will MO just verify that she is in fact ordered to pay and has not, and then CA applies it's laws?

 

[noodleroo]

That's a good question and it depends on how MO decides to file your case. Essentially, a court has already made a decision in Kansas. Since you are in MO, the enforcement agency will decide which way to go. The issues don't need to be rehashed by a court (unless there is need for a modification from your side or her side). There is more than one way to do this; I'm guessing they'll just file a foreign judgment but again, I don't have a clue how the family laws work in your state. Since the mom is in CA, you need jurisdiction in that state for your Kansas judgment to be enforced. MO will decide what to file for you. MO will be requesting the enforcement and CA will be in charge of any sanctions should she need to be held in contempt of court, just as if the original action had been filed in CA.

There is another law in Texas where if a person violates an order to pay child support several times, they can be charged with a felony called 'criminal non-support'. That's a whold different criminal procedure where the person who doesn't pay can be charged with a crime and possibly go to prison, not county jail, PRISON. The other alternative to prison is to be placed on community supervision (formerly known as probation) and a condition is that child support be paid. Look at your state's penal code to see if there is a similar law. I realize that you may not want to go that far with this, but I thought you'd like to know what else can happen.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

I know you want her to support her child and if it's worth it to you to go through all the hoops of "contempt" "license suspension" "garnishments" etc and win in court don't count on actually receiving any regular support when doing your family budget. If you ever do see any of that support money count it as a bonus. I think Joe Bryant has the best advice because if someone really wants to be a deadbeat they will. And if you hit the lucky lottery she will learn something by loosing her license or spending a little time behind bars.

 

[phaethona]

Quote:
well, I'm going the cheap route for now. The agencies I'm dealing with now aren't going to cost me anything. The bio mom is commiting a crime, in fact, I read yesterday that in MO a non-custodial parent who is deliquent of 12 aggregate monthly payments(in this case it's a LOT more than that) is a class D felony. So, basically what I'm doing is pressing charges on her, only I have the back-up of social services to prove my case. It won't cost me anything for the state to inflict their remedies because it's an issue of law enforcement.
my understanding at this point is that once I pass the court order onto MO cs enforcement services, they then have the resources to work with CA's cs enforcement services, and they put out the call to the DMV, IRS, etc. I doubt I'll ever have to see the inside of a courtroom.

now, if I were trying to establish a whole new court order, that's when it gets to be a big deal. then we're talking traveling back and forth to CA, we'd definitely have to have an attorney, and even if we could magically collect all the back support, we'd still be in the red after legal fees. not an option right now.

But I see your point, I'm not counting on money from her at all. yes, things are tight right now, but I'm finding other, more practical ways to get us through. I guess all this thinking I've been doing about how tight things are motivated me to get going on this because I can reasonably expect tough times in the future, and if I had some support from her(even though it's not much in the first place) that would really help out.

 

[noodleroo]

Good girl; looks like you're headed in the right direction.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
well, I'm going the cheap route for now. The agencies I'm dealing with now aren't going to cost me anything. The bio mom is commiting a crime, in fact, I read yesterday that in MO a non-custodial parent who is deliquent of 12 aggregate monthly payments(in this case it's a LOT more than that) is a class D felony. So, basically what I'm doing is pressing charges on her, only I have the back-up of social services to prove my case. It won't cost me anything for the state to inflict their remedies because it's an issue of law enforcement.
my understanding at this point is that once I pass the court order onto MO cs enforcement services, they then have the resources to work with CA's cs enforcement services, and they put out the call to the DMV, IRS, etc. I doubt I'll ever have to see the inside of a courtroom.

now, if I were trying to establish a whole new court order, that's when it gets to be a big deal. then we're talking traveling back and forth to CA, we'd definitely have to have an attorney, and even if we could magically collect all the back support, we'd still be in the red after legal fees. not an option right now.

But I see your point, I'm not counting on money from her at all. yes, things are tight right now, but I'm finding other, more practical ways to get us through. I guess all this thinking I've been doing about how tight things are motivated me to get going on this because I can reasonably expect tough times in the future, and if I had some support from her(even though it's not much in the first place) that would really help out.

I'm not sure that she can be charged with the felony since she has never lived in Missouri. I doubt Missouri has jurisdiction over her. The original court order was from Kansas; not sure who moved away first, y'all or her, but with no legal efforts to have the case moved, I would think that at the very least that the countdown for felony could not start until that takes place, meaning that you are at less than 0 now. On the other hand, if Kansas or California have similar laws, I would expect that she would be subject to either or both of them from the date the order went into effect in Kansas, or the date she moved to California. I'm not an attorney, but I can see where pursuing criminal penalties could become very complicated. She can argue that she did not give you permission to take her daughter out of Kansas (unless, of course, she did), you can argue that she abandoned her child by moving out of state and not maintaining regular contact per the visitation schedule. This could get messy, and messy can be expensive.

 

[phaethona]

Quote:
i think I've done a not so good job explaining the circumstances. here's how it goes:

Bio mom and my husband started here in MO, where daughter(dd) was born. They had problems, broke up and husband and I got together when dd was 2(dd stayed living with her mom). the mom then moved from MO to a trailer in the middle of KS. When the neglect and irresponsibility got to be too much for us to watch dd grow up in those conditions, we took out a loan and hired an attorney to go to KS with us and sue her for custody. The court did their own investigation, but it didn't take much to see that the conditions she was living in were unacceptable for a child. So we took dd back to MO with us, and the mom was ordered to pay child support to us. At the time the mom was living in KS, and us in MO. A few years later, the mom decides to move to CA where she is now.

So, in dealing with the laws, KS can't help us since neither one of us lives there anymore, there's nothing to enforce there. All I needed KS for was to give me the original court order and prove that she hasn't been paying. MO is now the one in my corner, since I am a tax-paying resident here, they will work with CA services to get things done.

It is my understanding that she will be subject to either MO's or CA's laws(most likely CA). Since i live in MO, I'm opening a case with the social services here and they are going to let CA know where she is and that she is in fact guilty of nonsupport. I just don't know if it's MO code or CA code she'll have to answer to(but I imagine it's about the same either way)

we don't need to have the case moved. we just need child support enforced, which is a separate entity from custody, visitation, etc.
we don't have to go to court. and we will not be hiring legal counsel.
the mother can't argue anything at all, won't have the chance to.

ETA to say: and actually not only does MO have jurisdiction over her, every state in the country does. She's in violation of federal law by the Deadbeat Parent Act of 1998, no matter where she goes, federal law can mandate state authorities to take action for enforcement as long as that state verifies that a valid court order for support is in place.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
i think I've done a not so good job explaining the circumstances. here's how it goes:

Bio mom and my husband started here in MO, where daughter(dd) was born. They had problems, broke up and husband and I got together when dd was 2(dd stayed living with her mom). the mom then moved from MO to a trailer in the middle of KS. When the neglect and irresponsibility got to be too much for us to watch dd grow up in those conditions, we took out a loan and hired an attorney to go to KS with us and sue her for custody. The court did their own investigation, but it didn't take much to see that the conditions she was living in were unacceptable for a child. So we took dd back to MO with us, and the mom was ordered to pay child support to us. At the time the mom was living in KS, and us in MO. A few years later, the mom decides to move to CA where she is now.

So, in dealing with the laws, KS can't help us since neither one of us lives there anymore, there's nothing to enforce there. All I needed KS for was to give me the original court order and prove that she hasn't been paying. MO is now the one in my corner, since I am a tax-paying resident here, they will work with CA services to get things done.

It is my understanding that she will be subject to either MO's or CA's laws(most likely CA). Since i live in MO, I'm opening a case with the social services here and they are going to let CA know where she is and that she is in fact guilty of nonsupport. I just don't know if it's MO code or CA code she'll have to answer to(but I imagine it's about the same either way)

we don't need to have the case moved. we just need child support enforced, which is a separate entity from custody, visitation, etc.
we don't have to go to court. and we will not be hiring legal counsel.
the mother can't argue anything at all, won't have the chance to.

ETA to say: and actually not only does MO have jurisdiction over her, every state in the country does. She's in violation of federal law by the Deadbeat Parent Act of 1998, no matter where she goes, federal law can mandate state authorities to take action for enforcement as long as that state verifies that a valid court order for support is in place.

As I said, it can get complicated. The federal laws are a no-brainer; it is when you start dealing with state laws that jurisdiction comes into play. Good luck.