Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Violation of Child Support Order

I have perused the earlier attorney replies to your question. It appears that you have been rather well informed as to how the enforcement system works. I might simply add that this inter-jurisdictional process is very slow and one must hang in there with a lot of patience. To keep current on progress, I recommend that you keep in touch with your local Virginia JDR Court couselers and treat them very kindly to get maximum results as they are probably underpaid and understaffed due to the current political situaation in Virginia.

Wayne Comer, Esq.

Vienna, Va.

Re: Violation of Child Support Order

The child support enforcement agency in New York

along with the prosecuting attorney will either negotiate a settlement with the defendant(your husband)and his attorney(if he has one)or they will make recommendations to the judge hearing the case as to what they believe the court should order in the event a settlement is not reached.

In that event the judge will then hear from the defendant and his attorney and then make a ruling

that will determine how much total support(including arrearages) that you will be entitled to receive each month.

Re: Violation of Child Support Order

The outcome - - what will happen - - depends mostly on whether your Hsb. has succeeded in hiding any & all assets. No one can tell you 'what to expect' because it won't be known until he is brought before the court and obliged to disclose his financial particulars.

At the very least, the court should enter a judgment against him for the unpaid / past due support; if that is filed properly it can serve to seriously impair his ability to do business ... of course, if his income {& your expectations} are dependent on his ability to 'do business', there's sometimes a bit of "Catch 22" there.

Notwithstanding all the 'hype' about the ruthlessness of the child support machine, it is, strange as it may seem, still possible for someone 'self-employed' to conceal income & assets ... it is my vague impression that sometimes folks get away with this because the system gives in to frustration prematurely.

Depending on which county DSS is involved, they are usually pretty zealous in their collection / enforcement efforts. So, it is reasonable to expect that there will be an order, obliging him to pay ..who knows what?.. - - the issue then becomes: how much is he willing to risk by not paying?

Good luck.

J. M. Hayes>>--> The foregoing amounts to musings and observations based on some years familiarity with the 'day-to-day' operation of the law with regard to the issues involved In The Most General Sense; my remarks should not be thought of as "legal advice and counsel" in the formal sense of that phrase, since there is, in fact, no 'attorney / client' relationship existing between us. <-<<