Legal Question in Family Law in Arkansas
Child Support....one order exits, do I need another?
I was married to,then divorced the father of my son. He was ordered to pay child support and all medical. Many years later, we remarried. When we divorced the second time, he filed and did not tell the judge we had a child. He filed in another state, so I was unable to attend the proceedings. So no order was made on Child Support. Is my first order still valid? If not, what do I need to do. By the way, one attorney told me that since he did not truthfully disclose all information about the marriage, the divorce may be invalid! Is this true?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Child Support....one order exits, do I need another?
What that Atty told you is incomplete. Here is how it goes: He moves to another state and files for divorce. The children are still here with you, and even if he had told the judge about them, it would have made no difference. The Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction Enforcement Act says that an Arkansas Court has jurisdiction over the children and not the Court wherever else he went. You are divorced. You now have to file an action here in Arkansas for custody and child support. In most cases such as you have stated, you can get CS back to the point in time at least when the divorce was filed in the other state, and possibly even back to when he left.
However, NO, your previous CS order is not valid, You will need another one. If we can help, please feel free to call Monday for an Appt.