Legal Question in Family Law in California

I went to court to get my child support and spousal support adjusted. He got served by a processing company but did not show up to court. The hearing went forth and the final judgement was that he has to pay me back the amount of $5,700 in over payed child support and $5,700 in owed spousal support. He is ordered to pay the arrears of $11,400 at $300 per month commencing October 1 2011 and continue until paid in full. My spousal support is $2,000 per month.

I had the new order served to him and filed the order after hearing with the court.

I called him and he said that he is not paying anything and he is saying that he was not properly served. NOTE: It took me 4 month to serve him the first set of documents. I hired the sheriffs department, a processing company and friends to do the service. My total expenses were $250, just on serving him.

My question(s) is/are: Is that a valid reason to not follow orders?

What should my next move be? I need advice, since now I am stuck and do not know what my options are.

Thanks

Jane


Asked on 10/07/11, 6:56 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

If he was not properly served, it is grounds to contest the order, but unless he does so, the order stands. If he fails to pay as ordered, your next step is to file an OSC re: contempt of court. Make SURE that is properly served by a registered professional process server. If he ignores that, he will be moving into the realm of criminal conduct and may face jail time. You may also want to turn collection of the child support over to the Department of Child Support Services. They are damned near Nazis when it comes to collecting and they have lots of powers (some that I consider to be seriously unconstitutional even) to force payment of child support.

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Answered on 10/08/11, 11:11 am


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