Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Re: Contempt of court due to non-payment.

It was free to go to the contempt hearing so your financial dilema does not fly. However, the first thing to do is to go fill out a court form requesting your support be lowered. The second thing is, after your benefits run out, go some job, preferably part time to allow you to search for a good, full time job. Bill Stern 248-353-9400

Re: Contempt of court due to non-payment.

The best advice I can give you is to pay SOMETHING, even if it means living on rice a few days a week. Never, ever let two weeks go by and you haven't sent a check for $50, if you're getting $275/week.

When you're finally hauled in front of the judge, you'll be a good position to argue that you've done the best you can.

Now that the bench warrant has issued, you need to have it taken care of. Ask the FOC to agree to release the bench warrant on payment of a few weeks support. That's all that happens with the bench warrant anyway,--it's the most effective method of seeing which stones have blood and which are really stones. The stones sit in jail until the court cannot legally hold them anymore.

In the case of parents who really want to do the right thing, it penalizes them, but there's nothing to be done about it. Especially here in Michigan, there's an all out war on non-custodials who don't pay and it can be downright devastating, but the Attorney General (who still rails against his ex-wife in the news because she didn't pay him child support) has made chasing "deadbeats" a crusade, and there is no indication that he gives a rats backside whether you're loving, so long as you pay up.

So, you have to look at things from teh court's perspective: "it's all about the money." They don't CARE if you live in a shoebox, so long as you pay. So, my suggestion is that you'll be in much better shape to deal with the bench warrant after you've documented a series of payments, no matter how desperate your situation. They're unlikely to come to Florida to get you, unless you owe a tremendous amount of money.