Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Visiting non-cust. daughter refused to go, mom doesn't care
I looked all over the internet for some semblance of this issue and found nothing at all. Four years ago or so, my friend's ex-wife (custodial) sent their daugher up for a visit. During that time, the daughter told of being left alone frequently, and of her half sister being raped while they were alone. Upon conclusion of the visit, the girl refused to go back to Florida. My friend contacted his ex wife and told her of this. She agreed to let her live with her father. Since then, she has only contacted her daughter a few times, and seldom requested visitation. After the last visitation, the daughter was sent back to her father without complaint. However, the catch is that the father is still accruing child support since he obtained custody. Is there a way to fix that? He truly does not owe the money because he is providing for all her life needs without any contribution from the child's mother. We live in Minnesota. Thank you very much.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Visiting non-cust. daughter refused to go, mom doesn't care
The question is really where was the case filed, Florida or Minnesota. If the original custody proceeding was filed in Florida, a Motion must be brought in Florida to modify support.
If it is in Minnesota, he can seek a forgiveness of child support arrears for any period of time that his daughter lived with him. However, if he has no arrears, it may be difficult to recoup whathas beenoverpaid. the onus to bring a Motion is on the party requesting the change. If you do not seek a change, it cannot, in most cases, be granted retroactively.
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Re: Visiting non-cust. daughter refused to go, mom doesn't care
There's a uniform child custody jurisdiction act which is the law in Minnesota. Under that law, if I understand your story correctly, the father can now ask for custody and for child support here in the courts of Minnesota. Assuming that Florida has also passed that uniform act (that's why they call it uniform), the courts of Florida will recognize the order from MN. It should not only end the child support, but also get some flowing in the other direction.
The father should consult an attorney right away. As long as he does nothing with the old support order, he stills owes all that money.
Good luck.
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