Another dead beat Dad

My ex husband moved to Florida several years ago and started working for his brother "under the table". I was told by a lawyer here in NC that there was no use to try and enforce the child support issue as it would cost so much to locate him and to get through the Florida system. It's now a couple of years later and still no payments have been received. The amount in arrears is over $15,000. He has since quit working for his brother and moved into a nice house (1/4 million dollar homes). He recently offered to pay for my daughter to go on a Spring Break vacation but when she asked if he was going to pay anything for her education and support, he didn't give an answer. In the separation papers, it also ordered him to pay for half of my daughter's college education. Nevertheless, I haven't seen any funds for this either. Creditors are still calling the house looking for him as he apparently has tried to keep his identity a secret. It's been almost six years now and I'm at my wits end. I have an address for him now and am taking that to Child Support today for them to activate the court order in Florida. I've also tried to go through Support Kids but all they do is call him and leave messages. Of course, he's never going to give them a call back. Now they've placed some sort of lien against him. I can't imagine that the house that he lives in is his or if he owns anything else with his credit history. It all seems too strange to me that anyone can just run away and live the high life and pay no bills or child support. What else can I do? If I total everything that he currently owes me for support, insurance, health costs for my daughter, and her education, it comes to over $30,000. Funds my daughter and I could definitely use right now.

What state is your court order from?

Was that your lawyer telling you it cost too much to enforce child support! I'd fire him on the spot!

I'm not 100% sure which child support office you'd use but you should bug your child support office more. They might be able to take him to the court and not only put a lien against him but also put the order to suspend his passport and drivers license, garnish his disability and social security checks etc. I hope this is the case for your state.

Also you should complain to Support Kids if they're just making phone calls and leaving messages. They're supposed to contact not only him but also his family and friends. I did my research on support kids because I was thinking about hiring them as well... I then read many complains about them online. You should file formal complaint if you're not satisfied with their service. They will take portion of $$ even though they didn't do anything- let's say you report his address to the state and start to get moeny - they will still take money.

Good luck, I feel your pain!! I am also trying to get my back support (I'm in Texas) and is going to go to the court in May.

You should start with support enforcement. They may be able to have his drivers license and tax returns taken. If you do nothing the court has no idea what is happening. You might also want to file a motion for contempt to force him to pay. See what assets he has and also modify your support payment. Just because he works under the table does not mean he can get out of paying. The court will look at his assets and ability to pay. They will want to look at his earnings potential not claimed earnings.

I am in pretty much the same boat.
First contact your child support worker/office. Give then what information you have. Going between states is not as hard as one thinks. It depends on the worker handling it. My first worker (in MN) wouldn't touch it. My original order in in WA, and had to get it moved to MN. The second didn't know how. The third after I threatened to go to the news media, got information fro the state he was in, from his new drivers license. The one I have now, has processed the paper in AZ. I have rec'd 4 tiny payments, but it's a start. It has taken roughly 6 years for this. They instantly denied a passport, and informed the IRS.
I know waiting is hard, and financially a HUGE burden. Mine now owes roughly 39,000.00 and I didn't turn in medical bills, or any extra cost to him, just support. I do know in a few states, you have to pay the medical bill and then the child support office will go after them to collect the other parents 1/2.

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will give you an update once I contact the local support office. In the meantime, I believe I am going to release Support Kids from handling my case. If they legally cannot enforce anything, they are not doing me any good at all.

I'm all into going after the low lifes that think they can run away from responsibility. Good luck to all of you in your collection efforts too.

Court order is in N.C. Yes, my lawyer is who said that but this was prior to taking the case. I never hired her again once she handled the divorce.


N.C. already sent something a long time ago taking his license but apparently that didn't hinder Florida from giving him another.

I am/was in the same boat. My x was order to pay half of the medical and child support on a regular basis. My original order was in GA but, I moved to FL. I contacted CSE for a modification or child support and to enforce back medical payments to me as he was paying his child support like he was supposed to.

With that being said, it took about six months for them (CSE) to "domesticate" or "register" my order in the State of Florida. Once I had received my case number for the State of Florida, I filed the motion for contempt for nonpayment of medical bills myself. In hindsight it was quite simple even though I felt overwhelmed by the legal paperwork at the time.

My ex was found in contempt of court and one of the things that helped my case was that I had gathered all of the bills that I could and had sent them to him certified with return receipt several months and several times before I filed my motion for contempt. I copied the certified return receipt and filed that with the motion for contempt paperwork. I had given him several opportunities to pay prior to our hearing, even gave him the option for partial payments. He was forced to pay some to me on the day of our hearing to avoid jail and then the judge granted me a monthly arrearage amount on top of my child support.

I am not in your shoes but I do know that it is difficult to live and support children off of one income. If I lived in the State where the decree was filed and if I were you, I would start with submitting your letters to your ex with the proof of payment or proof that the bills and college tuition exist (even if you haven't paid them), if you haven't already. Give him x amount of days to make a partial payment and let him know that you will be forced to file a motion for contempt if he does not comply. If he sends you something, it is better than nothing and it is a start. If he doesn't pay, file the motion for contempt just like you said that you would. Have the paperwork served to him in Florida (Courts will tell you how to do it). While you are waiting, file with CSE and they will eventually get you your CS money. It takes FOREVER. Include the amount that you know that he owes you in CS, medical and tuition as arrearages. You will get frustrated, you will loose your patience but, you will eventually get your back support and medical bills. They are the only ones with the abitity to garnish his IRS returns.

If you do happen to do any of the above things that I mentioned, don't call CSE, go in person. I wish you the best of luck.

One other thing you might want to do if you can afford it. Higher a matrimonial attorney to help you enforce your rights. The courts may award legal fees when one parent intentionaly ignores a child support order.