Q: Do I get back pay on child support owed to my mother while I was her dependent?
Parents were never married. They split up when I was 2. My mother had full custody and he was to pay child support. He skipped town when I was 5. Mother filed child abandonment. Mother found him 15 years later in Tennessee (mother, father and I are all from Georgia) and now she took him to court for it all. I found out about her taking him to court after the fact. Should I have received money out of it?
A: Most likely not. The money was for your benefit, but was to be given to your mother to spend on you. Basically, as a result of your father not paying child support, your mother had to pay additional funds out of her own pocket (that should have been coming out of your father's pocket, instead). As a result, your mother's action for contempt against your father for his failure to pay child support is simply your mother seeking recompense for the money that she is owed from your father. There may be some specific fact in your case, however, that might change this analysis; as such, I highly recommend that you speak with an experienced family law attorney in your area to discuss the specifics of your case and see if you are owed anything.
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