Legal Question in Family Law in South Dakota
divorce/custody issues
I am poor and lived in IA when I divorced. He and children now live in MN, and I have moved to SD. I can't afford an attorney, so where and how do I submit questions to the courts about child support, transportation and custody issues? He is not following the 1/2 transportation, making it financially tough on me and he is holding the past child support as leverage. He is threatening me and children to send me to jail in the meantime. I am not able to work FT cause of health, so I am stuck in a bad situation. I can't get SSD and can't afford to pay the childrens medical too. I am falling behind and need some judicial understanding. I just need someone that understands and would like to formally complain to a judge, but the last one didn't like that I didn't have a lawyer. I REALLY can't afford one. So with the 3 states and some complaints, how do I do this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: divorce/custody issues
I am not licensed to practice in South Dakota, so I will not give you legal advice. But I can give you some procedural tips that might help you.
First, if your income is below federal poverty level, you can probably qualify for reduced cost or free legal help. Look in your phone book under Attorneys and look for a Legal Services Corp. office. It could be called South Dakota Legal Services, or your county, or region of SD. Also look for the South Dakota Bar Association number, call and ask for a pro bono referral.
Second, if your divorce and custody matters were heard by an Iowa court, but parents and children are in different states, you have a jurisdiction question. In other words, "What court has authority to amend the child support and parenting provisions?" This is something your attorney can answer.
Third, I will assume that one of the states is collecting child support through its child support enforcement office (CSEO). If that's true, then you have documents from the CSEO. Call the CSEO and very briefly explain your situation and tell CSEO you need to reduce your obligation. It is not unusual here in Montana for the CSED to recalculate and modify support, then propose the new amount to the court.
The bottom line is this: The sooner you officially (through CSEO the court) seek a modification in child support, the lower your arrearage will be.
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