Mississippi Family Law Blog

Kosciusko man going to jail for not paying child support

A Kosciusko, Mississippi man was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $68,215.87 in back child support. According to the article, he will serve 2 of the 10 years in prison for failing to pay the child support. The Mississippi attorney general's office prosecuted the case. It is good to see Mississippi in the news prosecuting those who fail to uphold their financial responsibilities to their children.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Some tips for the tax season

As CPAs, accountants, and others are burning the midnight oil preparing tax returns, a recent article provides some helpful tips for those undergoing a divorce or recently divorced.

In my next post, I will discuss some common tax problems in a divorce.

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Posted In: Alimony , Child Support , Divorce

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A professional poker player who makes around $400,000 a year was jailed for failing to pay $160,000 in back child support. According to the article, felony arrest warrants were issued in Wisconsin for the man who lives and works in Las Vegas, Nevada. The man previously appealed a trial court's order which increased his monthly child support from $1,500 to $4,000 a month, but the appellate court denied his appeal finding that he made $400,000 a year which justified the increase. It appears he ignored the order, but Wisconsin officials pursued the case. It may be sometime before he is back at the poker table.

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Posted In: Child Support

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Child support ordered upheld for man not biological father

According to the article, a New Jersey man and woman married in 1991, separated briefly in 1994, and reconciled in late 1996. In 1997, their second daughter was born. Two years later the couple divorced and the father was ordered to pay child support.

When the child was seven, the father had DNA testing done on the child because the mother "started making statements" he was not the father. The DNA results showed there was 0% chance he was the biological father. When the results were brought to the attention of the court, the court ruled that it was not in the best interest of the child for the paternity issue to be pursued as the man was the only father the child ever knew. The parents were prohibited from discussing the paternity issue with their daughter and the man was ordered to continue paying child support. The judge's ruling was recently upheld by the appellate court.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Hefty fine affirmed against employer for untimely child support payments

In Illinois, you can be fined $100 per days for each child support payment not made timely. And this penalty can be assessed against an employer who fails to withhold and timely pay child support out of an employee's paycheck. According to a recent article, that is exactly what happened to an Illinois employer who failed to withhold and timely pay the child support payments a father owed. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld a child support penalty of $1.2 million dollars against the employer--who just happened to be the father of the man owing the support. The amazing part of the story is that the amount of child support owed was only $12,382.00. Talk about a penalty! I imagine other Illinois employer's will be careful about timely withholding and paying child support payments.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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It's all in the middle name

Here is a crazy story out of Tennessee in which the state is pursuing a man for $50,000.00 back child support. The problem is the state has the wrong man. According to the article, Dennis K. Brannon is being sent letters demanding payment of back child support; however, the real dad is Dennis Joe Brannon. You would think a call to the child support office would rectify the matter, but the wrongly accused Brannon said the state requested him to take a DNA test to prove he is not the father. And we wonder why some folks grow tired of the whole process.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Ravens fanatic lands in jail

A Baltimore Ravens fan who perched himself on a roof until the Ravens won or the coach was fired got a lot of publicity. Unfortunately for him, one of the people watching the news coverage was his ex-wife who alerted police to the outstanding warrants for his arrest due to non-payment of child support. According to reports, the man, dubbed the "Goof on the Roof", owes over $40,000 in back child support and will now be answering the judge's questions about how he was able to afford Raven memorabilia but unable to pay child support. This man's fifteen minutes of fame will cost him.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Two Army colonels face criminal charges over DNA scam

When I served in the military, random drug testing was standard and steps were taken to ensure that someone did not pose as another in an attempt to beat a drug test. But here is a new one. An U.S. Army colonel is accused of posing as his friend to give a DNA sample in a child support dispute.

According to reports, a Virginia woman sued Colonel Carlson for child support and a paternity test was ordered. Instead of Carlson showing up for the test, his friend Colonel Adkins showed up posing as Carlson in hopes of defeating paternity. Now both face criminal charges in addition to the end of their military careers if found guilty.

If the allegations are true, one has to wonder what these two, supposedly intelligent, individuals were thinking. If you are the father of a child, you have a legal obligation, not to mention a moral one, to support your child. Remember, child support is for the child, not the parent. So no matter what your feelings are towards the child's mother, the support is for the child.

NOTE: I had a reader send me an e-mail saying my comments only pointed out the child support obligations of fathers, not mothers. Although the story was about a father allegedly attempting to shirk his responsibilities, it should be reiterated that child support is the responsibility of both parents.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Man unlikely to get father of the year

A Michigan father (using that term loosely) failed in his attempt to get out of paying child support given he did not want the child. He argued that his girlfriend said she was infertile and was also taking birth control as extra protection. After the relationship soured, she informed him she was pregnant. He argued that the mother had the right to chose an abortion (in his words, a choice to disclaim parenthood), so he should have the equal right to disclaim parenthood by not paying child support.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals didn't buy his argument and agreed with the lower court which dismissed his claim as meritless. Essentially, Michigan's paternity laws, similar to other states, are gender neutral, placing the obligation of support on both parents. Given it is a gender neutral law, it does not violate the Equal Protection Clause.

For a copy of the decision, click here.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Child support—some avoiding jail, while others get out to work off non-payment

More news today about different states cracking down on parents who fail to pay their child support. In Pittsburgh, a five-day amnesty program expired on Friday allowing parents who had warrants for their arrest for non-payment of child support to come forward, pay the support, and avoid jail time. During the five-day program, over $118,000 in child support was collected according to the article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

While amnesty was offered in Pennsylvania, Georgia officials were starting a work-release program for those parents jailed for non-payment of child support, according to a recent article out of Savannah.

The non-payment of child support is a difficult situation to generalize. There are many stories of people who do not pay up until such time as they are facing time behind bars while there are others who do not have the means, or limited means, to pay the support orders in place. There are no easy answers, but at least some states are attempting to find workable solutions to the problem.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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In Mississippi, court can't require child support past 21st birthday.

In a case last week out of Jackson County, the Mississippi Court of Appeals reaffirmed the rule that a parent can not be obligated to pay for a child’s expenses past the age of 21. Daniels v. Bains was a paternity action and child support case. After DNA testing proved Daniels as the father, the court ordered Daniels to pay child support. Part of the support order required Daniels to pay for his daughter’s college expenses. Specifically, he was required to pay all of his daughter’s undergraduate college expenses and one-half of the expenses for graduate school, conditioned on his daughter’s grades.

On appeal, Daniels argued the order required him to pay for expenses after his daughter turned 21, the age of emancipation in Mississippi. The Mississippi Court of Appeals agreed and reversed the part of the order requiring him to pay beyond his daughter’s 21st birthday. As the court reiterated, Mississippi Code Sec. 93-11-65(8) states in part, “the duty of support of a child terminates upon the emancipation of the child.” Emancipation occurs at the latest when the child turns 21 years old. For more discussion on this issue, see my previous post.

In Mississippi, unlike a majority of states, a child is emancipated at the latest when they turn 21 years old. Once emancipated, a court cannot obligate the parent to pay child support, whether it is basic living expenses or expenses related to college.

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Posted In: Child Support , Mississippi Family Law Update

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Moms also on the run for failing to pay child support

The news is filled with stories of deadbeat dads who fail to pay their child support and are on the run from the law. In a story this week out of Indiana, the focus is on mothers who fail to pay child support and are now running from the law. While Mississippi does not have any mothers in the top ten list of parents who owe child support, you can be assured some are on the payments owed list.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Cover your financial bases

Here is an interesting article in the USA Today entitled "Breaking up is hard to do financially." It offers advice for the top 5 financial mistakes couples make when divorcing. For those divorcing in Mississippi, you should discuss this advice with your attorney to ensure you are protected financially.

Posted by Robert Kisselburgh | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Alimony , Child Support , Divorce , Family Law News , Property Division

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Failing to pay child support in Mississippi can be a felony

In a previous post, I spoke about different forms of punishment the federal and state government can use to those who fail to pay child support. The one thing I did not speak about is putting you in jail. Yes, a person who intentionally fails to pay child support in the State of Mississippi could be guilty of a felony and subject to fines and/or prison time.

Under Mississippi law, it is a felony to “desert or willfully neglect or refuse to provide for the support and maintenance of his or her child or children, including the natural parent of an illegitimate child or children wherein paternity has been established by law or when the natural parent has acknowledged paternity in writing, while said child or children are under the age of eighteen (18) years.”

Continue reading "Non-payment of child support in Mississippi can land you in jail" »

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Posted In: Child Support

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Child Support fee waived by Texas and Arkansas

In an update to a previous post regarding custodial parents being hit with a federally mandated $25.00 fee to help defray the cost of collecting child support, two more states have jumped on the bandwagon to waive the fee for those custodial parents. According to a recent article, Texas and Arkansas are the most recent states to say they will not charge the fee or they will collect it from the non-custodial parents who owe the child support. Maybe Mississippi will be the next state to see the inequity of charging this fee to those who are owed the child support.

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Posted In: Child Support

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New law hopes to increase child support collections

A new law in Maryland hopes to reduce the amount of child support arrearages. Here is the problem. A non-custodial parent is ordered to pay monthly child support. After a year, the parent gets behind in child support payments and the amount owed increases. However, the parent does not have the money to make both the child support payment and pay off the amount owed in back child support. So what happens? Little or nothing is paid on the debt. Maryland is offering a solution and a reprieve to some of its citizens, according to a news report today.

Under the law, if a person makes 12 consecutive monthly court-ordered payments, the arrearages is reduced by fifty percent. If the person makes the payments for 24 months, the balance is reduced to zero. While not everyone qualifies under the new law, this program does seek to offer a solution to the problem of non-payment of child support. Putting the non-custodial parent in jail does little to resolve the situation. Maybe this financial incentive will get more non-custodial parents to make good on their financial obligations and serve as a model for other state legislatures to follow.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Custodial parent says fee for collecting child support unfair

In an story out of Meridian, Mississippi, a mother received a letter from the Mississippi Department of Human Services charging her a $25 fee for collecting child support. Under federal law, the fee is charged when DHS is successful in recovering child support where the custodial parent has not received public assistance.

The fee is nominal in comparison to the taxpayer dollars spent collecting the child support, but the question becomes why the fee is not charged to the non-custodial parent who owed the child support.

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Posted In: Child Support , Family Law News

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Don’t pay your child support in Mississippi—lose your license?

States are attempting to crack down on parents who fail to pay child support. In a story yesterday out of Memphis, the Tennessee Department of Human Services is seeking to revoke the licenses (drivers, professional, hunting and fishing) of more than 14,000 parents who are behind on their child support payments. For those in Mississippi, similar laws are on the books. The majority of these laws came out of a push by Congress to crack down on parents who failed to pay child support. All states have laws which require the suspension of licenses (drivers, professional, occupational, and recreational) if the person does not pay child support as required by law.

Under Mississippi law, all licensing agencies are required to report the names of individuals who hold licenses to the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Child Support Enforcement. If a person holding a license issued by the State of Mississippi becomes delinquent in paying child support, then the State can start suspension proceedings against the individual.

Continue reading "Parents who don’t pay child support BEWARE—Mississippi could revoke your license" »

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Usually, child support obligations continue until the child reaches the age of 21. The Mississippi Code says the duty to support a child terminates upon the “emancipation of the child.” Emancipation occurs either when the child:

If there is a question as to whether or not a child is emancipated, it is a question for the court to decide. You should not decide on your own to quit paying child support in violation of a court order. If you believe that your child is emancipated and you should no longer be required to pay child support, then you need to talk with a lawyer so a chancellor can decide your case.