Guilty Until Proven Innocent - Part IV "A New Hope"

Please pardon the "Star Wars" reference. You'll see why I thought of that as you read on:

In my previous posts about my trials (or, more correctly, my lack of trials) with my child support issues I had quite the horror story to tell in Guilty Until Proven Innocent, Return of "Guilty Until Proven Innocent", and Return of the Son of Innocent Until Proven Guilty. I have a new chapter to add to this saga, and a surprisingly pleasant one, too.

After my previous experiences with the Texas Attorney General Child Support Division (AG), I was rather upset to receive a letter from them informing me that my child support agreement was to be "reviewed" to make sure everything was set up properly. It was a nicely written letter which described the benefits of going directly to the AG and negotiating since I wouldn't have to hire an attorney, pay court costs and would have any disagreements settled in a "friendly" atmosphere.

To say the least, I was somewhat dubious of the letter's claims and figured I was on my way to a kangaroo court. My fears were reinforced when I got another letter in ALL CAPS with a far more threatening tone which informed me if I didn't show up for the meeting a settlement would be made with no input from me. Of course, I was going to show up.

I took the day off and headed to the local AG office at the appointed time. What a place. It seemed that most of the people there were angry to one degree or another. Many of the employees looked shell-shocked as they went about their tasks. And no wonder, most of the angry people were giving them such a hard time about things. I have a healthy respect for those folks who work in that office, I doubt I could deal with angry people all day long and not go crazy.

The meeting went very well. My ex-wife and I agree on many things, and we weren't there to fight. I presented my recent pay stubs and the lady recalculated how much I was supposed to pay according to the AG's formula. In Texas, child support is pretty much set according to the law, so there really isn't much to argue about. My obligation went up a little because of a raise I got a while back, but it was still fair and according to the law.

All in all, it was a somewhat pleasant experience.

I do have to point out again how harried the folks working in that office looked. The lady who working in our meeting thanked us over and over for not fighting and getting ugly with her. I imagine we were probably the very rare exception to the rule that most folks go in there and give the employees a hard time. Again, I couldn't work there. The stress would have me in a nice white jacket, the kind with the long sleeves that tie in the back. My hat's off to the folks who work in our local AG office.

This good experience, however, does not erase my concerns about the lack of due process of the AG when it appears someone is in arrears in their child support. Though I appreciated their professionalism in this case, I still disagree with their methods in situations such that I experienced this past summer. After this latest experience, though, I am cautiously optimistic that us noncustodial parents aren't automatically vilified in all circumstances.

Return of the Son of Innocent Until Proven Guilty

When you think you have problems, often you hear about someone who has much bigger problems than you. I read an example of this in today's column by Ted Nugent in the Waco Trib entitled "Punks in black robes, courts of corruption." I feel a little ashamed for feeling sorry for myself dealing with my child support problem (See "Guilty Until Proven Innocent" and "Return of 'Guilty Until Proven Innocent'")

Ted tells the story of a man who was forced to pay child support despite the fact that the DNA evidence proved he wasn't the father of the child. Even the child's mother asserted she had never met the man who was paying support for her child. The DA and the judge both admit there were serious holes in their case, but that someone had to pay.

This man's story is amazing. In our country, with all the technological tools available to the police, prosecutors and courts - that someone can be forced to pay support for the child of a person he never even met is absolutely incredible. Instead of spending their time and resources trying to find the real father of this child they waste it putting the screws to an innocent man.

Yesterday, a friend told me of a man in Michigan who was forced to pay child support based not on actual salary, but based on what his salary should be when the average salary for his occupation was factored in. I'm would certainly be glad to hear that judge will force this man's employer to give him a raise. Oh, wait, that would be unfair to the employer. We certainly can't have any unfairness, now can we?

I wrote in an earlier blog I believe real deadbeat parents need to be prosecuted and forced to pay to support the children they helped bring into this world. But - some common sense and real justice needs to prevail as well.

Return of "Guilty Until Proven Innocent"

"Last time on 'Guilty Until Proven Innocent:'"

The State AG Office did a check of my child support payments and did not have a record of over $7000 in payments I made directly to my kids' mom. They immediately got a court order to garnish my wages for $100 per month to make up those payments without any type of communication with me to find out why those payments might be missing. I spoke with someone at the AG office and found out how to show I made the payments. Our story continues ...

I got the form from the AG Office, got the information about the payments I made directly to my kids' mom, and filled the form out. She was nice enough to meet me at the notary's office and we finished up the form.

Here's where the trouble starts over again:

My wife picked me up for our regular Friday lunch date. I planned to drop the form off at the AG's Child Support Office in my town. After we had a nice lunch, we headed towards the office. Right then, my phone started beeping - that's never a good sign. It was beeping to let me know I got some text messages that there was a problem at my office. My wife, being the great sport she is, agreed to drop the form off for me.

Fast-forward to that afternoon after work when I go to pick up my kids. Their mom comes out and tells me that the AG office called to ask whether the form was actually signed by her.

I was incensed at that.

Not only did they now question my integrity, they also questioned the integrity of my wife and the notary who innocently witnessed my kids' mom sign it. Amazing.

Thankfully, my ex-wife was kind enough to go to the AG Office and verify she signed it. The people there told her that those forms are never dropped off by the "current wife" with the ex-wife's permission. If that's the case, perhaps they should include instructions on the form as to how it should be delivered. If a notarized signature isn't good enough to prove the form's validity, the form should be changed.

Still in all, I am amazed at the mess this caused. Hopefully we have it all cleared up and I have been proven innocent.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

I never thought it would happen to me. The feeling it gives you is terrible. The shame is almost overwhelming. The thought of it makes my skin crawl.

What am I referring to? Being behind in child support payments.

Well, I'm not really behind. But, according to the Texas Attorney General Office I am; and I have the garnishment order to prove it.

My former spouse and I agreed on our divorce settlement a few years ago, it was during the last week of February. It was from that day until October before the final divorce decree was done and signed by the judge. Because I didn't have the proper court order, my employer would not take the support payments out of my salary and forward them on to the AG office as specified in the decree. Once I had the final paperwork in hand, I gave a copy to the payroll folks and the payments started coming out of my salary as agreed to.

In the meantime, I paid my support payments to my kids' mom directly. Every payday I wrote a check out and delivered it to her personally. No problem there, everyone was happy.

Fast forward to now. My support payments come up on the every-three-year review. They look in the records and see there is no record of payments made during the 8-month period before the final decree was finished. So they got a court order instructing my employer to take an additional $100 per month out of my salary to start paying back the support they think I didn't pay and they reported this matter to the credit bureaus. Without so much as a letter, a phone call, a "hey we're showing this discrepancy, can you explain it?" Wham! The gavel falls and I'm accused of and found guilty of a crime I did not commit in one fell swoop.

I called the AG Office to find out what the problem was. The garnishment order did not explain anything, it just mentioned the amount I am supposedly behind and ordered the amount to be deducted from my salary. Once the person at the office checked my records, I could immediately see it was a misunderstanding. I can understand where they might get the impression I skipped all those payments; but, given the fact that I have paid on time, every time since then you'd think they'd give me the benefit of a phone call or letter asking what happened to those payments. Nope - guilty!

I can have this backlog erased by merely filling out paperwork outlining the payments I made directly to my former spouse and having her sign it to verify I made the payments. Thankfully, we get along pretty well; I'd hate to think what it would be like if she were inclined to do "stupid ex-spouse" tricks like some I know of.

It's not the money I'm worried about. The worrisome part to me is that someone can be accused and found guilty with no due process, no recourse until after the fact. It's really a shame that our rights, guaranteed by the Constitution, are completely ignored in this type case. That is the real crime.

I believe any man (or woman for that matter) who does not pay their share of support for their children should be considered criminals. Their wages should be garnished and given to the custodial parent to make sure the kids don't go without. However - our Nation is founded on laws and one of the highest of those laws decrees that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty and that everyone is entitled to due process under the law.

If I had been given my due process in this matter, everything could have been settled with far less fanfare without labeling me a "deadbeat dad."