Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Grounds for Non Party to Sue to Recoup Purge and Child Support?
Are there grounds for a nonparty to sue to recoup a purge amount & child support paid for spouse�s children? My husband's Fla. child support has exceeded his entire yearly income for 5+ years & I�ve had to pay the excess child support, all transition expenses for his children (800 miles away) & fully support the children when they are with us 20 percent of the year. I have been freelance for three decades & have lost all of my main clients due the economy so now the child support & transition expenses exceed our entire household income. In December we filed a pro se petition to lower the support & fell behind on support this year because we just don't have the money (we're in foreclosure on our home & have been unable to afford treatment for my husband's cancer). Yesterday the judge denied our request for reduction of the support to bring it to Florida guidelines & ordered a $1,000 purge to keep my husband out of jail. The judge actually stated that he knows my husband has �no money� & that I was the one having to pay the purge from money borrowed to pay our mortgage but he didn�t care, even though the ex makes fifteen times higher than our household income combined (not counting her hubby's pay). Can I sue her for reimbursement?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Grounds for Non Party to Sue to Recoup Purge and Child Support?
Sue whom? Your husband? No, you didn't have to pay his support or purge for him. It was a nice thing to do, but you could let him go to jail or otherwise face the consequences on his own.
Sue her because you voluntarily paid a debt the judge says your husband owed? You're kidding, right? Is it her fault that you paid your husband's debt? Again, this is something you chose to do. You didn't have to.
If the judge threatened to jail your husband when he knows your husband can't pay, and if he's requiring your husband to pay ongoing (not past) child support that violates the guidelines, his remedy is to appeal, not to try to take the children's money back from the mother.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
