General Kansas Child Support Discussions > General Discussions

supposed contempt.

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flynlow43:
Hello, my first post. I have a question regarding contempt, or a contempt proceeding. I live in KS obviously, JOCO. My order is from another state, KS is just playing collection agent (interstate). This is an arrears only case, the child was emancipated 4 years ago. It is kind of complicated so I will try and be as clear as possible. The original order was 15 years old before the other state even sent it to KS. That was 2005. I received notice in the mail and probably by a sheriff that it was registered in KS, that they were doing income withholding. At the time, the support was $620 per month. Fast forward to 2009, I lost my job of 15 years. Then the support payments come from unemployment benefits, deducted directly from, like income withholding. April 2010, I go to court and get a modification (originating state). This cuts my monthly support to $310 per month, half what it was. This is where it gets somewhat complicated.

The court order states that it is to take effect May 1st, 2010. I talk to the court trustee, they say if I can get them a copy of the order they will put it in immediately. I drive it up there and hand deliver it that very day. It took three months for them to register the order anyway. (July, 27th). The amount coming from my unemployment stays the same. I call the trustee and ask, they inform me it is done by percentage, not what you owe. So as it turns out, they are taking $489 per month against a $310 order. I ask the worker and am told that any overage carries to the next month. So In July, the $310 is paid and $179 is credited toward August,etc. I am given a website for the JOCO court trustee, my case number and a pin number so that I can access my records, see due dates etc.

Fast forward again to May 2011. My unemployment ran out (still no job). I look on the website, it shows that my next due date is October 2011. I think, cool. Gves me more time to get in order. In September I look again, my taxes were intercepted and a payment posted of $400 in August, new due date shows as November 2011. Okay, so I get the $310 together for Novembers payment, mail to to KPC. I look, it posts on the 8th. The 9th a sheriff knocks at my door, handing me an order to appear on a contempt charge. The paper says. "the duty of support is $620 per month" next line it says, "the order has not been set aside, modified or changed". Mind you, it was modified 18 months ago and is no longer $620. Then lists the amount of my total arrears.

My question is, how can this be contempt? To my knowledge, the over payments covered those 4 mos that I didn't send anything. According to their web site it was covered anyway, the due date was Oct/Nov. I never received notice of delinquency from them. Reading their website and the JOCO court website, it states, that anyone 7 days past due on support payments must be notified of any delinquency, this is "local rule 28". I was never notified and it shows on their web site that no notices sent. (I did receive  a couple when I first lost my job waiting for UE to start). It shows on their site the date they mail a late notice. Haven't had one sent for two years.

So I am wondering, since this is the first and only glitch with Kansas, is this a true collection effort, or do they just like to drag people through the system just to flex their muscle? Frankly, it seems like the latter to me. I don't think they have a case. I can show (by screen caps) that no notices were ever sent to me. The paper they sent alleging the contempt shows the wrong amount of support and says the order was never modified, which it was. Just seeking opinions from those of you more familiar with this system than am I. It's odd to me too, I called the people in the originating state, they think KS is stupid (their word, not mine). They said in their state, they don't jump on contempt for a couple missed payments on an arrears acct. They use it more for someone that is obviously avoiding them and they have tried every other possible remedy. They said they use the balance forward method too, so they understood what I meant and agreed that those months were covered. Not that they have any say here.

flynlow43:
No replies? I see it's only been viewed 10 times in over 24 hours, one of those was me proof reading. Anyway, to simplify it since it probably comes off as complicated, I'm not the best writer I know. I really want to know what the feeling is I should do? Should I call them and point out their factual errors and the fact that they didn't follow their own rule and send me any notice of delinquency, thus proving my point that I wasn't delinquent? Should I get an attorney to contact them?  Should I get an attorney and just go to the hearing (which is still two months away), or should I just go to the hearing myself and explain it? It would make my life much easier if they were able to cancel the hearing, as it is, I have a trip planned for the three weeks, that just so happens the hearing falls right in the middle of. The trip is out of state talking to people about a job. There is a decent chance I won't even be a resident of Kansas on that date if things went right.

In the meanwhile, I plan on continuing my payments as I had always planned. I know they are going to say I missed those 4 mos. However, like I said, no notice that I wasn't current, which I fully believe I was and am. I look at it this way. I paid my November payment. It states on their website "Next due.. December 2011"  "still due $0".. If I were to send the next payment in today, it would be applied to December would it not? Making my next due January 2012. It's the same thing that happened all along. They were taking 490 a month on a 310 a month order. Where else would the extra 180 go? It had to be put on the following month, correct? The order didn't say "pay 310 per month plus extra if you can, want to or if it can be extracted from you".

Modification order says, and I quote as I am copying verbatim from it, "The  motion to modify child support arrears payments is GRANTED. Beginning May 1, 2010 and continuing each month thereafter. The respondent shall pay $310 per month toward support arrears and judgments until paid in full. The county shall not obtain any additional amounts by income withholding".  Notice it does say several times "PER MONTH" which would indicate that they expect a payment every month. However, It also states that they shall "NOT OBTAIN ANY ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS BY INCOME WITHHOLDING" which is exactly what they did by taking an extra 180 per month.

Anyway, that's it. Hope it's a bit more clear. I hope to get a few replies too. I really need some guidance on this. Thanks.

Guru:
Thank you for joining us and thank you for your post.  I will absolutely reply with my thoughts on the subject, but I need to get through all of the information first.  Just skimming your problem, I would say you have a child support mess on your hands which has landed you in possible contempt.  Don't fret the contempt crap, just make sure you make your court date and explain your case.  I would also advise you obtaining a copy of the KPC records from their website (if there's not a link on this site, I will add one).

I will reply to again to this post when I've had time to review your situation further and reflect.  Maybe later tonight.

flynlow43:
Thank you for the welcome. I look forward to your thoughts on the matter.

Guru:
That’s quite the story.   Took me a while to get through it all.   I think you have a very valid case.   I’m guessing you’re still unemployed so hiring an attorney may be cost  prohibitive at this point.  But I think  you have enough of a case that you could argue it pro se and probably do fine  (just my opinion).

Kansas has been tasked with increasing their interstate  collections.  I cannot remember where I saw  that, but they keep statistics on interstate child support, and they need to  show the Feds that they are collecting more interstate funds.  I don’t know that this is necessarily “flexing,”  but I do think the case is rather petty and wreckless – especially since the child was  emancipated years ago.  Usually if a  payor is paying anything at all, they won’t hit them with contempt because of  the legal system costs involved.  I would  call to schedule a meeting with the JOCO attorney for the trustee.  Actually ask them to put it on their calendar  and block a 1 hr meeting for you.  If  they refuse to do that, tell them you have no other choice but to file a  responding motion requesting your attorney fees to demonstrate that you’ve paid  everything.
Here’s your strong points:
-         Your order for $310 was way back in 2010
-         You hand delivered the order to their office at  their request on (what date?)
-         You called their office when you noticed too  much was being withheld and asked why and where that money would go (need  date).  You were told it would credit to  the following month
-          Their own system told you there was not a  payment due until October (need a picture of that).  This made sense to you since you had been  overpaying every month for a while.
-          You called and offered to resolve the matter  with the trustee but they refused and instead decided to drag the case into  court senselessly.
-          Child is emancipated and this is arrears only  (no child in need here)
-          You’ve been paying and intend to keep paying,  but you motioned to reduce the obligation to $310 for a reason, not so you  could over pay every month.
-          Trustee never notified you of any contempt.  Court records may have a certified mail  receipt or something
 
I think the trustee is going to claim they’ve never seen your  $310 order, so I think you should send a copy certified mail to them with  return receipt so you have proof that they have it.
 
Hope that helps.

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