Where's my child's money going and can I get it back?
May 27, 2010 9:10 AM Subscribe
YANML (You are not my lawyer) I live in the state of South Carolina and am the divorced noncustodial dad of a 7 year old girl. I have visitation and access to any records on my child and so on. My ex-wife is required by our Divorce Agreement / Court Order to maintain health insurance on our daughter.
The cost of that insurance is a factor that affects my child support payment which is in the same Order. If I become aware that my ex has not maintained the health insurance for about 2 and 1/2 years now, is there a legal remedy for recovering the amount I "overpaid" in child support for that time. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Is anyone knowledgeable as an attorney or anything? I tried Google but found nothing like this. I'm sure I'm not the first guy this has happened to.
If there is anything else I should add, send me an email at dadinsc at g mail dot dom. I'll respond if you'll be so kind as to post my response into this thread.
The cost of that insurance is a factor that affects my child support payment which is in the same Order. If I become aware that my ex has not maintained the health insurance for about 2 and 1/2 years now, is there a legal remedy for recovering the amount I "overpaid" in child support for that time. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Is anyone knowledgeable as an attorney or anything? I tried Google but found nothing like this. I'm sure I'm not the first guy this has happened to.
If there is anything else I should add, send me an email at dadinsc at g mail dot dom. I'll respond if you'll be so kind as to post my response into this thread.
Retroactive changes are rare, but if you can show that your ex isn't maintaining health insurance, you would have a good chance getting your child support lowered if you take on the cost of insurance yourself, rather than keeping it factored into your support payment. That would be good for your daughter too. I mean, this isn't about paying less for her upkeep, it's about making sure she has health insurance, right?
I'm sure I'm not the firstguy noncustodial parent this has happened to.
FTFY.
posted by headnsouth at 9:36 AM on May 27, 2010
I'm sure I'm not the first
FTFY.
posted by headnsouth at 9:36 AM on May 27, 2010
Mod note: comments removed - this is a difficult issue and chiding answers really suck for everyone. take bitching to metatalk or leave it out.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:48 AM on May 27, 2010
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:48 AM on May 27, 2010
This is something you really need to talk to a lawyer about, because it will depend on the laws in your jurisdiction, the particular language of the Agreement/Order, and the reliability of your information, among other factors; in short, information which we don't have.
I'm not suggesting you post this information in the thread, because all a bunch of strangers on the internet can do is speculate, and you need informed legal advice.
Nobody likes throwing money at lawyers, but situations like this is exactly what the legal profession exists to handle.
Aside, it seems to be a trend (in my jurisdiction at least, though it wouldn't surprise me if it was in yours as well) for family litigation involving children to focus on the best interests of the child, first and foremost. A good approach may be to ask yourself what is in the best interest of your daughter and go from there.
(IANYL, TINLA)
posted by AV at 10:46 AM on May 27, 2010
I'm not suggesting you post this information in the thread, because all a bunch of strangers on the internet can do is speculate, and you need informed legal advice.
Nobody likes throwing money at lawyers, but situations like this is exactly what the legal profession exists to handle.
Aside, it seems to be a trend (in my jurisdiction at least, though it wouldn't surprise me if it was in yours as well) for family litigation involving children to focus on the best interests of the child, first and foremost. A good approach may be to ask yourself what is in the best interest of your daughter and go from there.
(IANYL, TINLA)
posted by AV at 10:46 AM on May 27, 2010
I'm guessing that, as others said, the "overpayments" are probably not something you can recover once you deduct lawyer fees.
Your question seems to imply you think the mother chose to deprive your daughter of health insurance as a means of getting back at you/getting money out of you. If you really do think that, that's a pretty harsh accusation--do you think she's that bad a parent? Do you think that you should try to get custody if she really is that bad a parent?
If, on the other hand, the mother simply could not afford, even with the current amount of child support, to get health insurance for your daughter, then maybe it's really more important that that issue get resolved first, by putting your daughter on your insurance or getting state assistance involved. If at that time you want to go back to court and get your child support reduced, you conceivably could, though you might think about the effect on your daughter if they are already living in reduced circumstances.
posted by emjaybee at 10:48 AM on May 27, 2010
Your question seems to imply you think the mother chose to deprive your daughter of health insurance as a means of getting back at you/getting money out of you. If you really do think that, that's a pretty harsh accusation--do you think she's that bad a parent? Do you think that you should try to get custody if she really is that bad a parent?
If, on the other hand, the mother simply could not afford, even with the current amount of child support, to get health insurance for your daughter, then maybe it's really more important that that issue get resolved first, by putting your daughter on your insurance or getting state assistance involved. If at that time you want to go back to court and get your child support reduced, you conceivably could, though you might think about the effect on your daughter if they are already living in reduced circumstances.
posted by emjaybee at 10:48 AM on May 27, 2010
In my experience, money paid to the other parent is gone, and there is no getting it back. That having been said, the law, the order, and a host of other circumstances play into that. The reason that answers have been hard to find is that they are *highly* context specific.
You'll need to talk to a good family law lawyer in your area to find a better answer. Better yet, talk to at least 2 or 3 of them.
The big thing you need to do is figure out what, specifically, you desire as an outcome. A lawyer will be much better at helping you if you have some specific goals in mind.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:19 AM on May 27, 2010
You'll need to talk to a good family law lawyer in your area to find a better answer. Better yet, talk to at least 2 or 3 of them.
The big thing you need to do is figure out what, specifically, you desire as an outcome. A lawyer will be much better at helping you if you have some specific goals in mind.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:19 AM on May 27, 2010
If I were in your situation, I would try to get the order changed to make you responsible for the health insurance, which could lead to you paying less support to the mother. Really, what's more important, money now, or the fact that apparently the child has been uninsured, which could have been pretty terrible if she was injured or had a serious illness. Even if you don't end up getting back the money or paying less, you can at least know that your child is covered in case it's needed.
But yeah, you really need to talk to a family lawyer if you don't already have one.
posted by ishotjr at 7:22 PM on May 27, 2010
But yeah, you really need to talk to a family lawyer if you don't already have one.
posted by ishotjr at 7:22 PM on May 27, 2010
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posted by *s at 9:21 AM on May 27, 2010