Q: Why am I being charged 10 years of child arrears, if my ex husband in court was charged with parental-child abduction?
I went to court , got a divorce. Child support decided not to attend. After looking over my paperwork prior to court. The judge was shocked, beings we had 4 children. My ex hid 3 of my children from his family, my family etc He was charged with Parental-child abduction in Oregon. Yet, I am paying back child support arrears for my children whom he kept from me by moving consistently, telling my children they get in trouble if they contacted anybody. His gf at the time accused me of sexual abuse. Which I did not get charged for & now she is charging my ex husband for sexual abuse towards their son they had together. This is a reoccurring action she has done with bfs. She did have an ex bf prior to my ex husband, that went to jail & was charged for sexual abuse. Is there something I can do about this?
A: Generally, once there is an order for child support, there is an order for child support and it stands until it's modified. It sounds like there was an original order against you and you never specifically filed a motion to terminate or lower child support. Absent that, the child support stands and arrearages accrue as it's not being paid. As a general rule, the court is powerless to retroactively modify child support. Meaning that the court can't go back and change a child support order before the date on which you filed a motion to modify. If your child is owed to the state as reimbursement for welfare your ex may have received for the children, there may be a way to get out of part of that. Not sure what to say without knowing more facts, you should seek a consultation with an experienced family law attorney. Good luck.
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