Hi,
My divorce and cs order are from FL, in 2001. I currently live in OH but nothing has been changed to OH. I have custody of our 12 yr old son. I have had to take my ex to court on contempt for non-payment several times. He was finally up to date on cs in June 2004. In a seperate case (a felony, also in FL) he plea bargained and was sentenced to 2 years in state prison. He was released in March of 2006. He claims he filed for an exemption on paying cs while he was incarcerated, but the court file doesn't show this. He has not made a cs payment as of yet but says he will begin paying June 1. He is ordered to make payments ($216 per month) directly to the FL Child Support Disbursement Unit, at my request, since he rarely keeps a job very long. I have borrowed money from my sister every month while he was incarcerated in order to survive.

I have 2 questions.
A. Is there such an exemption for incarcerated parents? It seems this was his fault, plus he plea bargained, which in my mind makes his incarceration especially voluntary.

B. If there is such an exemption, since there is no record of him filing it 2 years ago when he became incarcerated, can he file for it now and not be responsible for the last 2 years of cs?

Thanks. This is so frustrating to constantly have to fight to provide for my child.