Q: I have an outstanding child support arrearage owed to me that child support enforcement has always handled for me.
He has never paid or paid as little as he could get by with for years and has amassed quite an arrearage as a result. I would go 2 to 3 months without a payment and was told they could not do anything unless he missed more than a month. Which he often did and I would just call and soon after I would receive payment. He recently paid off his arrears of almost $5000 and instead of me receiving it as it was owed to me, CSE took it for TANF payments they said i received and he owed - NOT ME. I did not receive these payments and I had already made sure I had no arrears years ago. I went on FSR website and saw he was supposed to pay $227/mo but I only saw $27 if i was lucky every few months and that was listed as true on the website. I believe they are lying. and that I am still owed those arrears. They are closing his case and said he still owes them $6000 and my arrears were paid already but I wasn't receiving payments the whole time. Illegal? Definitely immoral, We are first before them 2
A: It is common practice for the government to take priority for TANF payments when back child support is paid. If you feel this was an error and/or you want to pursue civil collections against your ex I suggest that you hire a lawyer. There are also some pro bono resources which may be available: http://www.intotolegal.com/upcoming%20Events/Pro%20Bono%20Services.html .
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