Q: Can a child support agreement outside of court be an argument against paying arrears?
My ex and I had lawyers agree on a lower child support payment 2 years ago. An agreement was drawn up but never signed by both parties, only I signed it. She never signed it and she did not submit it to the court. Now she is taking me to court for owing thousands in arrears. Am I going to be able to argue that I should not owe arrears because she agreed two years ago? It just never got filed in court with her signature. I have emails of my lawyer informing that her lawyer said she agrees to the lower amount.
A: You should contact the attorney who drew up the agreement for you. This may be a circumstance where a motion to enforce settlement agreement may be appropriate. The agreement may also provide an argument against whether your failure to pay the previously order support amount is willful.
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