Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
child support
My Fiance recently got out of prison. He owes about $5,000 in back child support. He has one son, and has joint legal and physical custody. He was paying $25.00 a week even though he had his son every other week, before he was incarcerated. And his Mother (his son's Grandmother) had his son at least every other week while my Fiance was incarcerated. Also his son has been working most of the time for the past few years, and is now 20 years old.
My Question(s) are:
Is it possible for him to go to court and erase the back support? If he pays it now it will all go to his son's mother who will use it for her own expenses (we know this because before he was incarcerated she repeatedly used the money to get her hair and nails done, etc). His son still lives at home one week and at his Grandmothers the other, and spends most Sundays at his Grandmothers. He also attends college full-time and works.
Also is it possible to set up some kind of payment plan before they begin to garnish his wages, or take his income tax?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: child support
Your finace did not write this. You did. Why?
Erase back support? For what reason?
Child support is paid to the child's custodial parent. It is difficult to do anything about how it is spent.
The child attends college full time; do I understand that correctly? Why is your fiance NOT paying part of the cost of his son to attend college?
I suggest that your fiance hire a divorce attorney and get some advice. I can not assist him over the Internet.
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Re: child support
I agree with Mr. Davies. This is a messy situation. At the very least, you should consult with an attorney. The child support during prison issue is very tricky and law on the issue is conflicting.