How to Get Credit for Child Support Arrearage
From Anonymous from Florida
I lived with my children’s mother for seven years after a break up during which she was awarded a child support order. After reconciling, she never terminated the child support order, and when we broke up last year, I started receiving notices that I owe her child support for the past seven years that I lived with and supported her and our child. My tax records, car insurance and registration, and other documentation show that I lived in the same residence with and supported my child for the past seven years.
How can I contest her claim, and get child support enforcement off my back for support I do not owe?
Answer:
If the child support was ordered through the court and you didn’t hear from child support enforcement until after the breakup then it probably wasn’t put through the child support enforcement department. Your ex has probably initiated the enforcement process. If so, you will have to get the facts corrected. In order to get the child support corrected you should probably do two different things.
First, you will need to modify the original order of child support. When you file the modification of child support you can state all the specific circumstances that were significantly different from the time it was originally ordered. This is where you can state that you and your ex lived together and all expenses for the children were paid by you. One of the documents required by the court is called the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act Affidavit) where you list the addresses the children have lived and with what adults. This will enforce the fact that you both lived with the children at the same address. Second, you can then get a motion to correct the child support account showing that the arrearages for the seven years you lived together be removed.
Once you have the modification this should be easier. It may take a while to get it all corrected, but with the proof and facts that you have it shouldn’t be very difficult.
