Dec 16, 2008
Wants and Warrants etc.
Just when I get settled in I receive a huge sum of mail yesterday. One of which is a court date for Harford County, MD. Turns out I have a civil courtcase today in Md. I owe $869.00 in back child support. That's it. The whole irony of this case is that I have two children. Both of them are from my first husband, who was a drunk. When we split, I kept Baggy Pants aka Jesse, and he kept the older boy Jason. A few years later Jason went to go live with his paternal grandmother. Dwayne, baby's daddy, never paid a dime, worked under the table etc. I worked, I got sued for child support. Jason is 23. I never got ONE penny for Jesse, as his mother always hid him from child support. So I had to pay. I called the courthouse and explained there was no possible way for me to be in Md. today at 1:30, and also told them that I will be able to pay the full amount on January 28th, which will close the case. The agent said she doesn't care, if I am not in court today, there will be a bench warrant issued. This is my question. This is a civil case not a criminal case. Do you think they will pursue transporting me from GA back to Md for $869.00? I have always kept every agreement, paid on time etc. I told her I just got my mail, she said, no dice. I understand she has to do her job and that is fine. Kenny thinks that I will just have an open warrant in Md. and as long as I don't get pulled over ( I rarely drive), I will be fine and we can pay it on the 28th of Jan. I was under the belief that this was paid off, so I was devastated yesterday. I am so happy here and I felt such a release of anxiety. It is beautiful. In about 2-3 months we will be sitting pretty financially. So again, to the few wonderful people who read my dribble, do you think I will be safe for the next month or so until I can pay the money? Do you think they will pursue transporting me? This is making me ill. Kenny said not to worry about things you have no control over. The only way I can change this is through money, which I simply do not have until the date I stated. Just for kicks I looked up some most wanted child support offenders and they owe amounts like, $45,000, $123,000, $10,000 etc. So there is a black cloud hanging over my lake today. I have never not shown up for court. It isn't physically possible. Do you think Kenny is right? I would like to be able to exhale a little. Sorry for not being my normal optimistic sunny self.
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4 comments:
What if you sent a good faith payment to show intent? That usually helps. Even small payments every week are better than nothing.
I would suggest you write a letter, have the signature notarized, make several copies of it, and send it registered mail to Child Support, the Clerk of the Court in the jurisdiction the case is, and to anyone else you can think of. In it explain why you were not able to be in court, explain when you will have the money and where it's coming from, refer to the conversation with the agent, (whom you called, not she called you!) say something like "as I informed Agent So-and-so, I will have the amount in full on this date, but it was physically impossible for me to be in court as I now live out of state, and by the time I received the mail, it was too late for me to make it back to Maryland in time." Make sure to keep a copy with you at all times, because there is always a possibility that someone will have a stick up their ass and have the Georgia police come for you. The token payment is a great idea, ANYTHING you can send, if it's only 10.00, and tell them you'll send 10.00 a week till the money comes, or something like that, if you can. Rick is right, small payments do show good faith. I would definitely write the letter though, IMMEDIATELY, and if you can afford it, send it express mail, and registered, or certified, or whatever it is when they have to sign for it. I doubt if they're going to go through the expense of coming after you, especially if you send some money, but to be on the safe side, don't answer your door until after you get them paid. If they pick you up, you're going to be held until whatever way they transport you back to Maryland, and then held in Maryland until you go to court, and there's no telling what they'll decide to do then. AVOID IT, if you can, until you know they've gotten your letter; I really think you'll be okay. I'm not a lawyer; I can't say for sure, but that's what I think.
Good luck!
Call the FoC in the new Georgia county and see if they can help resolve the situation. They may be able to contact the judge directly and hold off issuance of a bench warrant and take your payments for forwarding to MD.
Thank you for all your comments. The bottom line with these people is money, which I don' have this week. My agent is one who takes her job very seriously and she knows I always pay. I don't get money until the 4th week in December and the 3rd of January. Pookie, I did offer to fax a notarized copy of paperwork to the Harford Co. courts. I sent out copies and paperwork yesterday. Rick, you are right and thanks for your commets. WM, K agrees with you, but he doesn't want me walking int the local office until I have some cash in hand. So hopefully it will take at least two weeks for them to go to my old Baltimore address. Harford Co sends the warrant to Baltimore County, my last known address. I seriously think she didn't believe that I moved and was trying to get out of the one hour ride to court if I would have been living in Baltimore. I haven't been to any government offices down here or such and am keeping to myself. The warrant is not in the system as of last night. I am just trying to buy some time until I can show up in the local office with half of the money which I can do in 8 days. I am hoping that if I pay half in the local office, when they call up there she will transfer it down here and life will be right again. Please keep me in your prayers.
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