When we think about people who are in trouble for unpaid child support, we typically picture people who either cannot afford to make child support payments or who simply choose not to pay.
Many parents in California pay their child support on time every month and never expect any dispute to arise. Unfortunately, mistakes can be made which are out of a parent’s control, resulting in undeserved punishment.
For example, a father recently got some very unnerving news. Over several years, he paid roughly $250,000 in child support and he even had the records to prove it. However, the child support agency in his state was working with a very different set of numbers
Over the course of a few weeks last year, the father received several communications from the child support agency. The first letter he received stated that he was $116,000 behind in child support. The second letter stated that he was $109,000 behind in support. Much to his relief, the last letter he received stated he was current on all child support payments.
However, due to the child support agency’s miscalculations, the father’s professional paramedic’s license was suspended. The father is also fearful that he will lose his driver’s license and his hunting license as further penalties for non-payment of child support.
As an added insult, the father has been unable to get any answers regarding why the state’s records are so radically different from his own or how best to resolve the problem. Hopefully, the discrepancy will be fixed as soon as possible. In the meantime, the father cannot return to work as a paramedic because he would risk being charged with a felony for practicing without a license.
This case is particularly upsetting, considering the damage such an error could do to the man’s livelihood. It serves as a reminder to parents paying support in California that when it comes to child support, mistakes can and do happen. A family law attorney can help you resolve such mistakes before they critically impact your career, finances and freedom.
Source: WFTV, “9 Investigates: State child support mix-up could cost paramedic his job,” Nov. 7, 2014