I have a very hard working lady friend.  She has three children, one of them in college.  She works two jobs to make ends meet.  The prick thatis her ex, refuses to pay his child support.  Its not a huge amount a few hundred a month for all three.  He is already well over $3000 behind.  He also refuses to take part in any of their lives.  Its truly sad. I guess I dont understand how a man can write off his children like that.

Now, any ideas how she can collect from this bastard?  She is an extremely straight shooter and will not do anything evil or illegal! Fiend of the Court as she calls them is no help.

The courts aren't helping??  If the guy isn't going to pay then don't let him visit the kids.  Take him back to court and get this on record, sooner or later his paychecck should have withholdings held for back support.  AT least thats what happens in california.

Either way, she is better off without him.  I am sure she needs the money but at least this way he is out of her life completely.

Sgtar15

What is the situation with the guy? Is he working at all or not? Is it refusal, lack of means, or just nothing left over after necessities?

What you can do will depend on the state, but nearly all of them have soem recourse.  Some states will revoke your driver's license if you don't pay.  Some states will garnish your wages.  Some will throw your ass in jail if you piss off the judge.  

In the end though it's the old blood out of a rock deal.  If he lives his life so he's judgment proof,(i.e. he works a low wage job, or gets paid under the table so there's no record of wages, etc.) then it's pretty tough.

Have here go to one of the many women's organizations for this sort of thing.  They'll know the real story better than any BS the court will give her, or any thing else.

I have a lady-friend who hasn't recieved squat in years and years.  Her ex would just skip and she'd have to track him down, go trough the courts, and he'd pay once or twice, then skip again.  Over and over, until he landed in jail for various charges because he was a looser.  She'll never get anything while he's in jail, but if he gets out on parole, the court will keep track of him, and make him pay back payments.  Odds are though, she'll never see anything, as he'll be back in the system, or dead.  Besides, his future money making potential isn't all that great anyway.  It's been a long, hard road for her, and I respect her greatly for it.  Her daughter is super cool as well, so that just goes to show that if you don't give up on your situation, it will pay off one way or another.

My ex-wife and I are still great friends, and I pay her for my kids without a second thought.  I mean after all they are my kids, right?  I also see the kids all the time, and we raise them on the same sheet of music.  Our divorce has worked out far better than our marrige ever did, and I like her better now that I don't have to put up with any of her crap[:)].  Seriously, our kids had to be tested by the school system, since they came from a "broken home" and were found to be better behaved, better emotionally, and just plain better than kids that come from a supposedly "whole" family.  Her parents still like me, and her husband and I are good friends as well (and even his parents have "adopted" me).  Sounds crazy, as it goes against all that divorces are supposed to result in, but that's the way it is.

Ross

In my practice, child support enforcement is one of the more "user-friendly" procedures if your client is the payee.  No matter what the arrearage, your friend can file a show cause in state court.  So long as the child support is court ordered, the court can use its contempt power and dish out jail time to the payor (in most states, up to one year).  Usually, the defendant cannot appeal a jail conviction without posting what's called a "performance bond" meaing the money will be paid when the proceedings are over (unless he prevails).  Another nice touch is what's called a purge clause for the jail time; meaning the defendant can "purge" the jail time by simply paying the arrears.  You'd be suprised how often payors can come up with the money when they are looking at jail time.

Also, there is a child enforcement division in every state.  Have your friend contact them (information will be at the clerk's office in her local courthouse) and at the very least, file a show cause for the back support.

ARDOC

Michigan has some pretty tough Deadbeat Dad laws I thought.  Friend of the court is no help?