Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ Back childsupport payoff

[dhunter]

My son's father owes little over $80,000 in back support (not including medical expense).

He is retaining an attorney to barter for a settlement to erase the arrears and would like to give up partenal rights.

My son is 15 and his father has seen him once. He has never paid support.

What would be a reasonable settlement or should I even except an offer?

Thank you

[Jim Reape]

What you do under these circumstances should be weighed against what you may otherwise do in pressing your rights. How collectible is he? Where is he getting the settlement funds?

[dhunter]

DCSS has had the case for the past seven or eight years when C/S was first established. They were not able to collect. I have never considered investing money on this. It would be throwing good money after bad.

Last spring they found an IRA count in the East Coast. DCSS tried to collect, but he took it to court and the judge ruled in his favor stating that there was no jurisdiction for collect because neither lived in that state.

He lives off of family money. DCSS has transfered the case for collection to the state he now lives in, which in not the state the IRA was held.

My assumption is the probate is closing on recent inheritance and he doesn't want to pay the full amount out of the new assests he is collecting or he is moving to the state his current assest are held. He would not agree to pay anything unless he believed I would get the whole amount.

He has no desire to have a relationship with my son, so this is not a 48 year old man realizing he is missing out of his only child's life and therefore he wants to make good on his responsiblity.

I hope this answers the questions

An additional question. If my husband adopts does my son have to change his last name. He carries my name? My husband and I both know and respect that he would want to keep the name.

[Jim Reape]

You should have father make an offer. His making an offer in no way obligates you to accept it. It only opens the door to negotiation.

[bbrc]

I would think the offer letter would be helpful in estabishing that he does have the means to pay and is in contempt if nothing else.
I have also seen some private firms that collect child support that are paid a percentage of what they collect, but nothing up front from you.
The fact that he does have assets means they may be able to collect.
It would also be worth a phone call to them to see what they can do and whether you and your son would end up with a better result from that or from the offer he makes.

You should have father make an offer.  His making an offer in no way obligates you to accept it.  It only opens the door to negotiation.

[dhunter]

They are offering $20,000.

The claim is his mother is selling a house or refinancing a house and is going to use this money to pay the amount of $20,000.

His attorney said he is unemployed and will not be employable.

In exchange I close the DCSS case.

They are also going to file for a downward modification unless I stipulate to an amount.

Is this a fair offering?

[Jim Reape]

The filing for a downward modification is only for future support, not what was owed from the past. It is hard to comment about how adequate the offer is without some investigation into his ability to pay now or at some date in the future.
Also be aware that there is some case law indicating that his attempt at a compromise will not work as he is not really offering anything. The arrears are not in dispute.

[dhunter]

I turned down the offer Friday night by simply stating that I did not feel the offer was in my son's best interest.

I would like to see enough to pay to his housing through college, his tuition in paid for, his book we can afford.

[Jim Reape]

Hopefully DCSS will come through for you on this.

[cincsu]

I turned down the offer Friday night by simply stating that I did not feel the offer was in my son's best interest.

I would like to see enough to pay to his housing through college, his tuition in paid for, his book we can afford.

as someone who negotiates quite regularly through my job, if something is declined we offer a counter proposal. did you offer a counter proposal? maybe it is something he would accept........

[dhunter]

I offered a counter proposal. It is far from what they are offering.

Their offer
$20,000 and no support

My offer
$40,000
$10,000 a year while my son is attending college
and
$330 a month in support based on an inputed minimum wage

Currently he owes $82,859 in support and $13,572 in medical. He is suppose to pay $759 a month in support and he has not seen my son in 8 years.

It has only been a few days, but I am bracing for the worse and am expecting court paperwork soon.