Need an Increase in Child Support? Read this first...

With most of the nation facing tough economic conditions, many single parents may be tempted to take their ex back to court to get more child support. You need to be aware of a few things though before you attempt to get a modification of your child support order.

Most states calculate child support payments by using a computerized system where they input both parents incomes and then come up with a number based on a number of different factors, such as visitation, health care, etc. If you feel that your ex is earning more money than he was when the child support was first determined, you may be entitled to an increase in child support.

But be warned. By taking your ex back to court, he can also ask for a reduction. You need solid evidence that his income has substantially increased. If you do not have this proof, I would not advise trying to get your support order modified. I know a woman who went to court trying to get an increase and got a decrease instead after she could not prove that her ex-husband made more money. He owned his own business and was able to hide cash. Her ex, however, told the court that she had received a raise since their divorce. Since she worked at a company on the books and her income was easy to verify, she unfairly had her support reduced.

I know another woman whose ex owes her money for their children's health insurance and wants to go back to court. She is reluctant however, since her ex recently remarried and has a new baby. She is afraid he will apply for a reduction since he has a new child to support. She has a tough decision to make. Since her ex is not behind on actual child support payments, does she overlook the money she is owed for health insurance or take her chances in court and possibly have her child support payments reduced?

If you are receiving regular child support payments, now may not be a good time to rock the boat and take your ex back to court. Many parents are losing jobs and facing money problems right now. The last thing you want to do is go back to court and have your support payments reduced if your ex asks for a reduction.

If, however, you can prove that your ex is making more money and you have suffered a financial setback, you should file for a modification so that you can get the child support you need to take proper care of your children. Child support is not about trying to get more money from your ex for your own personal gain or attempting to reduce your support payments to get over on your ex-spouse, it is about two parents being responsible and doing their very best to financially provide for the children they brought into the this world.

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How to Get a Deadbeat to Pay Child Support

If you are a single parent and your ex refuses to pay child support, you may be at your wit's end trying to collect the child support owed your children. It is a frustrating, long process if you are dealing with a deadbeat who works off the books, hides money or moves from state to state.

The child support enforcement agencies can only do so much and they are overloaded with cases. Private investigators are expensive and you may feel like you have reached a dead end.

I recently found a website that may help you in tracking down your ex and finding the evidence you need to collect the back support owed. EmailRevealer.com has a few services that are affordable and can give you the proof you need to bring your ex back into family court. Here are a few of the services that can help:

1. A background check. For $99.00 they will give you, addresses (10 Years),a list of relatives ,assets ,judgments, liens lawsuits, bankruptcies and UCC filings

2. Locating a current employer. The price for this service is not listed on the site. If you provide a social security number, address and name, they can find the current employer your ex is working for.

3. Asset Search. This one is pricey at $399.00 but you will get a complete list of your ex's assets including:

Real Estate
Investments: Stocks / Bonds / Mutual Funds
Boats
Planes
Companies
Bank Accounts: Checking and Savings
Trust Accounts
Real Estate
Cars

The company also lists email trace reports and many other services on their website. If you find any information on your ex that can help you in the collection of child support, you should either file a motion at your family court or if your case is handle by a state child support enforcement agency, contact your case worker and turn the information over.

Remember, you must be persistent. That may mean calling your case worker every few days so that your case dos not get lost in the shuffle. The state agencies can also do searches for bank accounts and employers for you for free, but they are slow and it can take a considerable amount of time to get results.

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Do You Spend Your Kid's Child Support on Yourself?...

Many father's rights advocate groups will tell you that one of the main excuses a man gives for not paying child support is that he thinks his ex-wife will spend all of the money on herself and not the kids. Since the a custodial parent receiving child support does not have to report how she spends the money, many dads are left wondering if the money is really going to the kids.

I feel that this is a myth. I have yet to meet one women who uses her kid's child support for her own needs and neglects the financial needs of her children. I am not saying that there are not some women out there who spend the child support on designer handbags,. There may be, but I have yet to meet one. The single moms I know, myself included, not only spend all of the child support on their kids, they are left short each month and must pay for all of the "extras" that children require.

My child support payments cover food for my children and that is it. All other expenses, like housing, clothing, holidays, birthdays, school expenses, etc. are taken care of by me and it comes to a higher amount than the child support my kids receive. I am not complaining, because I am grateful that my ex-husband now makes regular payments each month when so many women are dealing with deadbeat dads who pay nothing or are continually late.

I don't see how a woman could use the child support payments for herself unless she neglected her children's needs. In that case, the non-custodial parent should file a motion in court for custody if he feels his children are being neglected. It is a very hard thing to prove, however, so make sure you have proof that your children are not being taken care of. Evidence of this would be children who are malnourished and unkempt. Don't assume your ex is using the child support for herself without actual evidence.

Woman Almost Arrested for 63 Cents in Back Child Support...

A woman was summoned to appear in court for owing a whopping 63 cents in child support. She came close to being arrested and put in jail. It sounds unbelievable, especially since her children are grown men with children of their own and she finished paying child support 12 years ago!The county she resides in recently computerized the child support system and although she was never notified previously, she apparently owes 63 cents in back support.

What a waste of time and resources. The irony is that parents who owe $6,300 or even $63,000 avoid prosecution every day. Millions of parents cannot collect child support yet this woman, owing pennies, is hunted down and taken to court.

It makes you wonder what the child support workers who obviously saw and prepared this case for court were thinking. Wouldn't you think at least one person would question why they were pursuing someone for 63 cents and check to see if the case was valid?

The response for the agency was this:" It’s a waste, but that’s part of what we do, unfortunately,” said Sumter County Clerk of Court Jamie Campbell. “We don’t have the authority to wipe it away.”

So even though they knew they were wasting taxpayers money, and instead of simply calling this woman to inform her of the 63 cents she owed, they thought it would be more prudent to serve her with a court order and threaten her with jail? Stories like this give us little faith in the legal system.

Government Pursues Dead Man for Child Support...

A deceased Florida man is being billed for child support payments even though he has been dead for 10 years. Scottie Peterson's family has called the government agencies repeatedly and tried to inform them of Mr. Peterson's passing to no avail.

It is ironic that the state child support agency attempts to collect child support from someone who really is dead, yet is lax in support collections for deadbeat parents who are very much alive.

I can understand a mistake being made, but the fact that the family called and were ignored and that this has been going on for 10 years is unbelievable. We had a similar incident years ago in my own family after my father-in-law passed and we kept getting a parking ticket in his name. I called and let them know that was no longer living. They were very insistent that he pay his ticket. I finally gave them the address of the cemetery where they could find him.

Now that the media has picked up on the deceased man's family, hopefully the child support collection agency will stop their collection efforts and leave Mr. Peterson's family alone. They have plenty of deadbeats who owe large sums of back child support to concentrate on.

Man Tries to Pay Child Support in Pennies...

A man in Denton, Md. recently attempted to pay $1,000 in child support in rolled pennies. The child support office would not accept the money. But since the man has gone to the press, they have called him and apologized and will now take the coins.

It was probably illegal to reject the pennies, considering pennies are legitimate U.S. currency. But I can see how the child support agency would be annoyed at the deadbeat's attitude and arrogance by purposely paying his child support in pennies as a sort of protest.

Why do some men resent paying child support? Do they not want to take of their children financially? Maybe they are feel so much anger and hatred for their ex that they cannot stand giving money to her, even if it is for the children? Some men are convinced that their ex-wives spend the child support on themselves. This may be true in some rare cases, but most single moms I know use child support for what it was intended, to take care of their kids.

The man who wants to pay his child support in pennies needs to come to grips with his anger and resentment and start accepting the fact that he is a father and therefore must pay support for his children. I can't understand why paying support would be an issue for him considering all of the free time he has to roll $1,000 worth of pennies. Maybe he can use those hours to get a second job or put in more hours at his current one.

Warning: Scam may affect your child support payments...

If you receive child support payments through a debit card then you need to know about a new scam targeting parents. Thousands of parents across the country have reported receiving messages asking them for personal information about their debt cards.

The card, known as EPPICard, is given to custodial parents as a way to receive child support payments instead of a direct bank deposit. The parent can use the card as a credit card in stores and also withdraw cash. It seemed like a great idea until these thieves decided to try and steal child support from innocent children.To target parents who need child support to take care of their children is disgraceful.

If you have an EPPICard, do not give out your personal information to anyone claiming to be a representative of the company. They will never email you or call you. If someone does call, hang up and then call the customer service number on the back of the card.

You may even want to consider contacting your child support enforcement agency in your state and asking that your child support payments be deposited directly into your bank account. If you choose to keep the card, make sure to check your statements online frequently. They do not send out paper statements in the mail, so you need to make sure all charges are accurate.

Deadbeat Parents Can Lose Gambling Winnings..

Two states, Colorado and West Virgina have plans to seize the gambling winnings from deadbeat parents at their casinos. This is great news if you live in one of these states and your ex is behind on child support. At least if he wins, you know your kids do too.

If you go to a casino and win a few hundred dollars on a slot machine, you do not have to report it as income. So a deadbeat can play the slots and win at different machines and hid that money easily. So I am wondering how the casinos will be able to track winnings. The plan may be to go after higher winnings that you have to reported as income. Most likely they will have to check everyone's winnings through a computer database and make sure you are not a deadbeat before handing over your winnings.

Anything that can be done to collect child support and deter deadbeats is a good thing. If a deadbeat parent cannot pay his support, he has no business in the casino gambling anyway.

Deadbeat Moms On The Rise...

I often write about deadbeat dads and the child support crisis we have in this country, with billions of dollars in back child support being owed to many children. Statistically there have been more fathers who refuse to support their kids than mothers, but now more mothers are becoming "deadbeats" too.

One mother has left her kids and fled to Hawaii. She lives in a lavish town house with her boyfriend and drives his luxury cars, including a Porsche and a Lexus. she currently owes $12,000 in back support. Another mother is on the top of Mississippi's Ten Most Wanted list for failing to pay more than $45,000 in child support.

I could never understand how a father could turn his back on his kids, but for some reason it is even more horrifying when a mom does it. Mothers are supposed to have maternal instincts, they sacrifice for their children, not abandon them. The rise in deadbeat moms is frightening. I guess this was inevitable with more men gaining custody of the children during divorce.

Both mothers and fathers must understand that when you become a parent you are financially responsible for them. You can't refuse pay child support because you are angry at your ex, think you deserve joint custody or feel your do not make enough money. The kids must come first, before your own needs. You brought your kids into this world and as a parent you are responsible. My advice to deadbeat parents is this: Grow up, stop whining and stop being so selfish. Start paying your child support and become someone your kids can be proud of.

Find out how to protect yourself financially during your divorce....

Can you trust the Government to collect your child support?...

In Oregon, a department of justice employee and her fiance are being accused of stealing from single parents by devising a scheme that enables them to collect unclaimed child support payments. These two stole thousands from the very families who need it the most. How tragic.

This is a rare incident and I don't think people should panic and not
utilize the services of local state child support enforcement agencies.
But it should serve as a wake up call to parents to stay diligent and
frequently check with support officials about child support payments.

Here are three tips for working with your local child support enforcement agency:

1. Be persistent. These agencies are overloaded with cases and do not have enough case workers to handle them all. You need to make frequent calls and keep after them to collect any unpaid child support due you. . Do not give up! The biggest complaint I hear about from frustrated parents who cannot collect child support is that they can't get someone on the phone at the agency. Keep calling. Call every day if you have to. Ask to speak to supervisors.

When my ex switched jobs, the child support agency stopped garnishing his wages. I called and found out that it was his employer who was not complying with the order and taking the money out of his pay. The agency explained that they sent several letters to his employer, trying to get them to cooperate. I took it one step further and called the human resource department at his job. I told them that by not withholding my ex-husband's wages, as directed by the court, they were breaking the law and I would hold them accountable. Soon after they began withholding his wages.

2. Provide information. Make sure to update your case worker frequently with any
information you may have about your ex. If you find out your ex had changed jobs, moved or any other information that could affect your case, be sure to inform the agency.

3. Check deposit amounts for accuracy. If you receive support payments by direct deposit, check or if the support is issued via a bank card, make sure to check that the amount is correct and being deposited on a regular schedule. If you see a missed payment, do not automatically assume your ex has not paid, it could be an error from the child support agency. Call them and find out.

Find out how to protect yourself financially during your divorce....