Child support and driving

[Andara Bledin]

On the why of taking away driving privileges:

Driving is a privilege, not a right. And a lot of people are serious about keeping their ability to drive, so it makes a very powerful threat when it's time to get people to do what they should have been doing without the extra incentive.

The fact that it's unrelated to whatever is, honestly, bullshit. It's all regulated by various government agencies, and nobody should be surprised when they work with each other.

^-.-^

[KnitShoni]

If you really think it's unfair, bring it up to the appropriate authority. I'm fairly sure that would change real soon because I'm fairly sure that claiming a dependent when they are not technically your dependent (this is what I assume you mean by "eligible years") is illegal and could bring penalties down from the IRS. So... Why would a government entity go more leniently on you if you're letting your ex cheat on her taxes?

The IRS doesn't actually care which parent claims a dependent, as long as only one household claims them at a time. If he brought it up to the IRS, all they'd say was, "Well, you allowed it."

As far as child support: unless it's written in a decree or court order that you can pay it all once a year, you're going to keep getting letters and threats. The reason for this is that payor and payee never agreed to a once-a-year lump sum. The agreement was for payments to be spread out over however many increments. You agreed to that. You signed your name to it. Why shouldn't you expect to be held to it?

[jackfaire]

Second - I hate the notion that they can take your driver's license for non-payment of support. Driving and child support have NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER.

Except in that in most cases if they take your license you can't get to work you lose your job and you fall even more behind in payments.

I pay child support. I pay it on time every month. I think having your license taken away for being late is BS.

It's one of those cases where the end result will be a drain on the tax payer. If like me the person lives in a place with good public transportation then losing their license may not cost them their job but in a lot of places it means no longer being able to get to work and losing their job.

Now instead of paying late the person is not paying at all. Now that they aren't paying at all it stacks up over the threshold. Now they arrest you. Now they sentence you and now your in jail at cost to your fellow taxpayers for much more than you owe.

A better method perhaps charge a late fee. For however long late you are that is how much more you have to pay. If your habitually late then seek a court order to garnish your wages etc.

Taking away your means to pay at all though is stupid. It's cutting off your nose to spite your face.

"Fine you don't want to pay on time we are going to make it so you can't pay at all"

It fails the logic test. Especially since most of the people choosing not to pay their child support, not the ones that can't but the ones that flat out choose not to, would also just choose to drive without a license anyway.

[bara]

"Fine you don't want to pay on time we are going to make it so you can't pay at all"

It fails the logic test. Especially since most of the people choosing not to pay their child support, not the ones that can't but the ones that flat out choose not to, would also just choose to drive without a license anyway.

Precisely. By having such a silly law in place you are only going to make it more difficult for those that are trying to pay. In my area the public transportation is terrible. Its okay to get to the shopping centers and around town, but all the jobs that pay worth a damn are well outside the transportation area.

What I have noticed in the past is that the people who actually pay child support seem to have more problems than those who don't. That may be only because since they are in fact paying, they are more open about bitching about it though.

[jackfaire]

The problem is that the system assumes that if you are paying child support it's because your a dead beat parent. Not because you got a divorce and kids were involved. No it's flat out because your a dead beat parent so you will be treated like a criminal until your child is 18.

[dendawg]

1. No license means no way to get to work means no job means no paycheck.

Driver's license revocation doesn't necessarily mean no job (unless of course driving is in your job description)...there's always rides by friends/family, taxi or mass transit.

[AdminAssistant]

For those who live alone in rural areas, it might as well be.

[Andara Bledin]

There are a plethora of transit options that don't require a license, including a number of rather powerful motor scooters. It would suck when it's raining, but a suspended license would be no hindrance to getting where you needed to go.

A defeatist, responsibility-shirking, "it's all their fault for taking away my license" attitude, however...

^-.-^

[dendawg]

There are a plethora of transit options that don't require a license, including a number of rather powerful motor scooters. It would suck when it's raining, but a suspended license would be no hindrance to getting where you needed to go.

A defeatist, responsibility-shirking, "it's all their fault for taking away my license" attitude, however...

^-.-^

Whether or not you need a license to operate a scooter/moped varies from state to state. In some states you actually need a motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license for a moped/scooter, regardless of engine displacement.

[DrFaroohk]

A defeatist, responsibility-shirking, "it's all their fault for taking away my license" attitude, however...

lol I seriously love how all you guys argue here. "Hey, we having nothing valid to add, so I'm going to just invent a bunch of shit!"

Anything else? How about a few replies about how I beat my kids? I didn't say anything about that, so it might as well be added in. I also didn't talk about cheating on my wife, so let's throw that in too!

Or we could stick to, you know, facts? Stuff that was actually said?

[Canarr]

Well, you're kinda stingy on the facts, yourself, I gotta say.

You say you pay once a year? Is that the interval agreed upon, in wirting, between yourself and your ex-wife? Or were you actually supposed to pay once per month, but you let it accumulate over the year and just pay at the end?

And, how late are you on average? Are we talking days, weeks, months? That does make a difference, IMO - if your license is suspended for a few days' delay, then I agree with you, that's bullshit. But if your position is, "Hey, there I was, a mere five months late with my child support, and they yank my license!" I will add my voice to the "suck it up and pay on time" crowd.

[Ree]

I'm thinking that DrF put this question out there to ask just what one situation had to do with the other, and whether taking away a driver's license for non-support is an appropriate penalty.

I realize it stemmed from his own situation with what was perceived as his delinquency in making his payments, but Dr F's own personal support payment history really isn't the main topic here.

As I see it, the main topic for discussion and debate was whether suspension of a driver's license for non-payment is really the best way to go about trying to collect from deadbeat parents.

[DrFaroohk]

Yes, I'm SUPPOSED to pay every week. I just don't see a real tangible difference.

I know if I was a social services worker and I'm looking at the cases in front of me, I'm gonna see the guy who pays late, but always pays, or the guy who just doesn't pay, and I'm gonna leave the guy who pays alone.

She gets a nice check for like 3 grand in addition to her taxes every year. She needs a car? Got it. New furnace? She's all set! Family vacation? Have fun! QUIT BITCHING SO MUCH! You got your money so fuck off.

[Ree]

As I said, DrF, your own personal record of child payments is not what should be getting discussed here.

You asked about the driver's license/payment default connection.

Let's go with that...

[jackfaire]

..there's always rides by friends/family, taxi or mass transit.

The first one only if your work schedule works into the ones held by your family and friends and believe me that can be difficult and the latter only in the city. Most places in our country don't have a good Taxi or Mass Transit system.

And depending on how much you make a taxi can be prohibitively expensive.

Most places I have lived you were lucky if you could walk to work otherwise you better hope you can drive or your never going to work.