Niagara Falls, NY asked in Family Law and Child Support for New York

Q: I've been fighting in family court with my ex since 2007 he is 35,000.00 in arears and he will not get a job on the book

Because then he will have to pay please help me

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1 Lawyer Answer
Peter Christopher Lomtevas
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Answered
  • Schenectady, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: First and foremost, going into any court anywhere without an attorney is a fool’s errand. The American court system is highly constrained as we are a free people. However, a child support court is a court of policy – the support of kids as a response to the welfare problem. This narrow constriction and widespread effect requires a savvy attorney to put to the custodial parent’s advantage.

America set up a trillion dollar system of extracting a few hundred dollars per month from a young father. We had a cheaper system of simply doling out money and housing to single mothers and their children. However, political backlash forced government to create a system that absorbs everyone, even the middle class who never failed to support their children before.

The system is packed with holes. The legislation assumes every young father has W-2 employment. The statutory calculations depend on employment to gin up the income figures and the resulting support amounts. Self-employed young fathers can earn money to pay for business expenses, and deduct those dollars from exposure to child support. Because we can conspire against the tax authority, the typical business owner will ensure the maximum amount of money is deducted away leaving behind a paltry income subject to child support.

Moreover, employers are overburdened by federal legislation that requires intense human resource management. Employers must withhold child support and income tax withholding, maintain meticulous paycheck records, investigate immigration status, monitor disabled facilities, adjudicate sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims, for example. This federally imposed effort costs a fortune that many employers can eliminate by simply paying cash to men under orders to pay child support. The child gets nothing and the man is economically disabled for good.

A meeting with an attorney is crucial to discuss the various options available to this asker. We here online do not know the full extent of the case and its orders of support. All we see is a possible violation petition for arrears that will go nowhere if the asker proceeds on her own.

Americans require a lawyer for death, taxes, and having a family. There is no alternative.

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