Q: Interest owed to mother that never had the child in the first place.
I owe arrears and interest to the mother. The child is of age now, and on her own. I wanted to know if there is a precedent to give to a court that could waive the the interest owed to the mother and to the commonwealth. She never had the child for the majority of the child's life. She pawned the child off on the grandmother and aunt for years at a time. We have proof, and the child would testify to those facts. Yet she collects the support. We would like to settle with her and the commonwealth. to pay only the arrears and waive all interest and penalties. Is this doable?
A: Some states grant the court the ability to suspend interest on child support. There are other consideration, but you will have to bring that to a court’s attention in a proper legal action. I would recommend the use of an experienced family law attorney to assist you with that process or possibly a state legal aid service whose services you might qualify for dependent upon finalcial circumstances. The Court does not have the authority to retroactively modify a child support order, absent a showing of fraud upon the court. Not all states follow this line of reasoning however.
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