Question:
A couple of days ago I posted a question about whether or not, after
filing a paper to stop receiving the child support 10 years ago, the
custodial parent (mother in this case)could come back now 10 years later
and seek child support. In this particular case, the children are now
grown and in their 20's, the mother has engaged a private collection
agency and has given them false information which has led the agency to
believe that the father over a 20-year period never paid her any child
support (not true -- he paid until she stopped it with a paper she filed
in court, and he has a lot of his receipts plus can get his payment
records from the authorities as well as a copy of that court paper).
On the father's behalf, I have been doing some 'Net research on these
private collection agencies, and it seems they are not regulated and can
engage in some pretty extreme practices such as publically pointing him
out as a "deadbeat dad", making that statement to his place of
employment, making the same statement to the IRS, and destroying his
credit. This father is not and was not a "deadbeat dad", is willing to
pay any child support that a court would feel he fairly owes, if in fact
he owes any at this point in time. However, since the mother has
blatantly lied to the private agency about the facts, and because this
agency has not shown any appreciable professionalism (i.e., they did not
themselves check the court records which would have shown them the woman
was not being truthful), the father is fearful that he is at risk of
having his life ruined by an unscrupulous agency before he has had time
to get copies of the records that will prove the facts.
Does anyone know whether his fear is reasonable? Do these agencies tend
to act first without allowing someone reasonable time for a person to
produce records? Also, does anyone know of any successful lawsuits (re
extortion and/or defamation of character) against exes and/or private
agencies when a non-custodial parent has been sacked for amounts they
truly do not owe and had their lives turned upside down because of it?
Answer:
Depends upon the state. But yes, as a general rule his fears are reasonable.
Most state cs systems suck (for both mom and dad) and the IRS collects based on
the states request. Get your records together ( never give the collection
angency your only copies) and get a good lawyer
