My ex has let a significant portion of the support go unpaid for the last two years. If I take him to court over this, I will have to pay a lawyer several thousand dollars – a lot of money, when my ex is already not making his payments. Our separation agreement states that he would have to pay my legal fees if I have to go to court over his violations in our agreement (which there are several).
I just have a feeling if I pursue this, I’ll be out even more money that I won’t see for years.
If he is behind on CS he will owe back support, in addition to regular payments. He will be ordered to pay you more than what the original order said in order to catch up on his arrears. You may proceed on your own or with a private attorney. I suggest you hire a private attorney and seek that your ex pay your attorney’s fees as well, particularly since this is in your agreement. If you feel you have to pursue it alone, you may want to try using our DIY service which has a complete library of forms. The forms are contained in our DIY library. DIY is a paid service. Do It Yourself North Carolina Divorce
I am not an attorney
OR, let Child Support Enforcement take over the child support case, and THEY will take him back to court, and get the order enforced…you do not have to pay them for this service (I think there is a minimal fee of $25 or something to get it started? Maybe per year? Not sure), and they will have an attorney that represents you at the hearing…and they will also take care of garnishing the child support directly from his wages. And he will be responsible for paying the fees that CSE has incurred to take him to court over the issue.
And, if he continues to not pay, and the judge sets a purge amount, and that’s not paid, he will get an all-expense paid trip to the pokey for a bit to think about it.
The courts really don’t like it when NCPs don’t pay their child support…
does it make a difference if it is an amount in a separation agreement, and not court ordered? Will a child support collection agency still take on a case like this, or only where it was child support ordered by a court?
You could use Child Support Enforcement for a case where the child support derives from a Separation Agreement, however, in your case you cannot. You need to file a simple breach of contract action, with the SA being that contract. He can be charged with contempt for failing to fulfill his contractual obligations to you. CSE won’t be involved because it appears from these facts that he is paying you child support, but he is not paying you this “bonus” or extra child support that you agreed upon, which is likely over his NC guidelines obligation.