Texas Child Support is bad.

by Chris
(San Antonio, TX)

During my divorce the judge came up with some amount of child support $600 a month. Which is 62% of my total monthly income. I tried to explain to them that I can't afford it. Well, guess what they did not care. They penciled over the amount my x-wife requested. In addition my wife had an affair and had a child with the person she had an affair with. The court put that child onto my child support amount to be paid under my protest. Since the child was born while we were still married the court considers the child mine. The court case ended.

I did not get notice that I had to start paying until 7 months later at which time my back child support amount added up to $4200. I was floored to learn I owed that much for missed child support. On top of the $600 a month they wanted me to pay $150 more a month to pay off the back child support. Since the amount I had to pay monthly was 62% of my income to start with the extra $150 a month was the nail in my coffin.

I lost my apartment, because I could not pay rent. I almost lost my car because I could not make car payments. I lived in my car for nearly 3 months so I could pay off the amounts. They hit my credit so when I applied for a loan the loan office denied me. I got turned down for two jobs and basically both in different ways told me they did a back ground check and seen how much I owed in back child support and could not in good faith hire a dead beat dad. I was at the end of my rope and the OAG offered ZERO help to guide me.

I tried asking the OAG office for help. They told me they could not do anything and to submit a review. I submitted the review and then was told it could take a year to be done. I could not live in my car for a year and I had no other place to go.

I did find another women and it has been a few years. During that time I managed to scrap a few hundred in savings to go back to court to try to get the extra child removed and my child support lowered, crossing my fingers I got a different judge with my w2 in hand.

I still owe over $5000 in back child support. They never adjusted the child support for the "extra" child that was not mine. They only lowered the child support amount from the end date of the court date not from the orginal child support start date (even though my W2's clearly show it was 62% of my total income).

Now, I am scared out of my mind. I am still paying my child support and making the extra payment on the back amounts that orginally started to build up cause I did not know about it. They served me papers and I see how they send people to jail. My current employer has a zero tolerance rule on missing days. So, even missing two days will get me fired. I still have car bills, child support, rent, and now I have an another wife and two children to support with my new wife. If I go to jail and loose my job then we will all be SOL!! I have never been to jail. I have always obeyed the law no matter what it was.

I am so scared that I am thinking about moving out of state and get a new job from that state and just mailing my child support from that state. I want to pay child support and have been paying child support. I just don't want to go to jail for the amount I have in back child support. Which is just $5300 at this time.

I am very scared!!