Child support can cause trouble for California couples
California parents who pay child support may be able to learn a valuable lesson from a Chicago man who recently faced trouble regarding child support payments even after he diligently made every scheduled support payment for more than 10 years.
Unknown to him, his troubles began when his former girlfriend, the mother of twin girls, moved out of Illinois several years ago. He continued to make child support payments to the state of Illinois through payroll deductions. Illinois sent the money directly to the woman in whichever state she was then living.
When she moved to Mississippi, the state of Illinois continued to send the father’s support directly to her. As a result, Mississippi had no record of past transactions and in 2009, Mississippi ordered the man to pay $900 in back child support.
As a result, he began to pay an additional $95 per week, also to the state of Illinois. Unfortunately, Illinois still sent the money directly to his former girlfriend, so Mississippi again had no records of payments. In July 2012, Mississippi sent the man a document demanding $5,100 in back child support.
Because the states of Illinois and Mississippi were not in direct contact with one another, the problem took a while to solve. Eventually, the state of Illinois agreed to send a $1,505.69 refund to the man for his overpayments.
Similar cases may also happen in California when custodial parents move out of state. When couples split, one parent may choose to move to a different location. Regardless, children still need the financial support of both parents.
It may be helpful for parties going through divorce or who are required to pay child support to speak to a lawyer about differing state’s laws when one parent decides to relocate.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “Problem solver: child support case becomes a hot mess,” Jon Yates, Nov. 18, 2012
