Multi-State Modification of Child Support

[JasonG]

My question involves child support in the States of: CA, NY, and NJ
I have three child support cases.

The first is in Orange County, California. The child in that case will be 29 years old next month. there was an eleven year period in his life where I had no contact. When contact was reestablished, the California Dept. of Children services court ordered back support for that time, plus interest. The interest continues to be added on monthly, until the balance is completely satisfied.

The second case originated in New York Supreme Court, Chenango County, New York. This is the more complicated of the three. The children in this case are ages 24 yrs., 22 yrs., and 19 yrs. The oldest is married, and the other two are not furthering their education. Approximately three years ago, I petitioned for a modification in this case through electronic testimony with Chenango County. The magistrate did order a temporary modification. This was overturned because neither of us reside in New York any longer, and the custodial parent refused to allow New York with continuing jurisdiction to make modifications. Although the magistrate did admit the modification was justifiable, without the needed consent, New York was now limited to just enforcing the original court order. The custodial parent now resides in Somerset, Pennsylvania, and refuses to register the case in that state, knowing that a modification will follow.

The third case is in Hudson County, New Jersey, but is enforced by my local child support agency in Hernando County, FL. The child in this case is 13 yrs. of age.

My pay has been garnished at 60% weekly, and income tax checks deferred towards the arrears for the past 15 years. Both New York and California add ridiculous amounts of interest every month, preventing me from ever being able to catch up with the ever-growing balance. Now that the majority of my children have reached adulthood, I feel it only fair to pursue some course of action to bring some relief to this situation.

What I am looking to accomplish is:

(1) Discontinue the continuing addition of interest that NY and CA continue to add, so long as I am continually paying towards whatever balance is owed.

(2) Modify the amount that is garnished weekly to a lesser, livable amount

Again, thank you for your time, and whatever direction you can point me in to get something done about this.

[Mr. Knowitall]

If you don't want to pay interest on your arrears, the solution is to fully pay off your arrears.

With the cases involving your adult children, assuming none of the arrears are owed to the state, you can see if the payees are willing to settle your case and potentially waive some portion of the arrears. If you are eligible to terminate support under the terms of the New York order, and have not yet done so, you should do so. No state is going to retroactively modify your support obligation.

For your minor child, child support will be assessed according to the state formula. You have not indicated that support has been incorrectly calculated or that you have a basis for modification. If there are more facts that you wish to add, please share them.

In terms of the garnishment, under federal law, up to fifty percent of your disposable earnings may be garnished to pay for child support if you are currently supporting a spouse or a child who isn't the subject of the order -- you have not indicated that you are supporting any person other than yourself. If you are not presently supporting a spouse or child, up to sixty percent of your disposable earnings may be taken to satisfy your ongoing support obligation, and an additional five percent may be taken if you are more than twelve weeks in arrears -- so your situation could actually become worse. You did not identify your state of residence, so you will have to investigate any state law restrictions on your own.