My ex is behind in child support (nearly 90k) - some of this he gets a pass on because of bouts with unemployment (our agreement calls for missed payments due to unemployment to be tacked on to the end of our term). There are other payments that he just didn’t make when working.
He’s got dual citizenship, so fleeing is an option for him. I know that passports won’t be issued for people who owe more than 2500 in support. My question is how I can get some sort of action on record or have the court block him from travelling internationally. He has a passport – would they restrict it?
As it is incredibly expensive to get a lawyer and sue for breach of contract (I do not have the money when he’s so far behind on payments), is there any kind of agency or process I can go through on my own?
You will need to bring an action for the back child support and ask in your relief that the judge restrict his travel. Whether the judge will act on that request, is up to him or her.
Yes, you can contact child support enforcement for assistance with filing a claim for child support or intervening if you already have a child support order.
You may also want to contact the embassy of his country of citizenship. They may have a mechanism for restricting the passport of a citizen so seriously in arrears. I have an ex who is also not a citizen and was concerned about flight with my children. I was able to file something with the embassy regarding. I never asked about retricting his passport due to owed child support though, as he is behind as well.
My grandson’s father was $8,000 behind in child support last year and applied for a passport (because he was planning a destination wedding to Jamaica). He was unable to obtain a passort until he paid every penny of the back support. From what I understand, all the states report anyone who is more than $2,500 in arrears for a hold on their current passport or those trying to get a new one.
Some states will release your name if you get the arrearage below $2,500 but North Carolina does not. North Carolina makes you pay all back support. My grandson’s father found this out the hard way. First he paid enough money to get his arreage to $2,400 but still couldn’t get his passport. Then he paid it all.
Guess he doesn’t want to go out of the country any time soon because he has not paid another penny in child support since last August.
He has been served with a motion to show cause by child support enforcement and goes to court next month.
Hopefully you have a court ordered child support order in place. If you do, I would call them up and let them know that you think that he is planning to leave the country and maybe they will/can make sure that his name has been reported to the Department of State.
I have a separation agreement. I guess I’m unclear whether it’s considered “court ordered.” It was not ordered through the court, but the separation agreement was submitted/filed with our divorce, so does that make it court ordered, if the judge approved it?
Not sure what recourse I have, as filing for a breach of contract costs thousands of dollars, and I do not have that kind of money right now. Especially with an ex who is so far behind on support.
If the separation agreement was incorporated into the divorce judgment, you should be able to enforce it by way of a motion for contempt or order to appear and show cause. If you work with child support enforcement, the agency will intervene in the case that is already pending.