Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
I went to a Georgia court in response to a contempt charge for non-payment of child support. I was paying child support faithfully then stopped because I didn't see my child for 6 years even though the order allowed for visitation. I didn't know where my child was so I stopped paying. I went to court and the judge did not acknowledge my response to this fact and only dealt with the child support issue. I still haven't seen my child and now am paying more child support. Aside from filing a contempt against my ex, what other recourse do I have?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Unfortunately, by not talking to a lawyer before you showed contempt to the Judge, you have considerably weakened your position.
Nothing will anger a judge more than a deliberate violation of his order with the exception of taking the law into your own hands. You did both. Child support does not end because of visitation problems.
As to visitation, your only recourse is contempt. To get a judge to pay attention to you, you must do several things: (1) get completely current on child support arrearages so that does not remain an issue, and (2) hire a lawyer.
If you are in compliance with an order and she is not, your ability to get a judge to enforce it is greatly enhanced.
Other than comply with the current court order, your next step is to file a petition for contempt for her failure to comply with the visitation order. Visitation has nothing to do with support. Therefore, you cannot withhold support because she doesn't comply with visitation, and she cannot withhold visitation because you don't pay support. So, you are both in contempt.
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