Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
If a mother was paying child support to the father for years and there was joint custody, but the children were living with the father. Then all of a sudden the courts decided to award the mother temporary custody. After that the mother takes the children, moves away without notice or permission, and stops paying child support monies. In such a case could the father continue legally to accept the child support checks that still come to him from cs and could the mother get out of paying the unpaid money that she did not pay for the 7 years that they were with her, but refused to follow the court order of paying the father? If the answer is yes, then how is that possible that she can get out of paying when it was a court order and they did not go to court to have those payments stopped or even lowered? Can she be locked up for her actions? Can he get the children back? If so, how? Do the children have a say about who they want to be with? Ages: 12, 14, 16, and 18.
1 Answer from Attorneys
I assume that you are the father that this question is talking about, or a friend.
I will assume that what you state is correct on the facts.
If there is a court order giving joint custody and requiring the mother to pay child support, then she owes that money for the time that the court order covers.
The courts suddenly awarded custody to her? And she moved with all of these children? How far away? outside the state of New Jersey?
The father should RUN to court to force the mother to return the kids, try to get back custody, and take whatever other action is available. The father should start on this immediately, right now.
Force the mother to pay child support? Can she get out of paying? Lock her up? I dont know, it depends on the court orders and the facts.
Get the kids back to the father? That will take a motion (a written request to the Court to order this). And the father should fight very very hard to do this.
Do the children have a say? Yes. absolutely. They should tell the Judge what they want.
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