Whenever a couple with dependent children divorces, complications are likely to arise. The process can be overwhelming and painful not just for the children, but for both parents. There are assets and property to divide, custody issues to settle, and of course, child support payments to make.
In most cases, the parent charged with making payments to the former spouse genuinely wants to provide for their children’s expenses. Tuition, day care, health insurance and the daily costs of living add up quickly, and most parents, even if they aren’t going to be sharing every day with their kids anymore, want them to have the best quality of life the two parents can afford.
A man in Albuquerque who says he has been dutifully making payments for 18 years was shocked to receive a bill demanding $84,000 in child support. He said the bill caused him many sleepless nights in which he wondered if he would get arrested, even though he always makes his agreed-upon payments to support his daughter.
Feeling helpless and unsure where else to turn, he contacted a local TV news station, which investigated the bill and discovered it was an error caused by the way he was making his payments. The father is off the hook now, but he said he still feels defeated. He claims the billing error destroyed his credit and caused his license to be revoked.
Parents in Texas paying child support can probably relate to the man’s stressful situation. Most don’t want to shirk their responsibilities; they just want to continue providing for their children, and to be able to afford to do so.
Source: KOAT.com, “Dad Says He Got $84K Child Support Bill By Mistake,” Nov. 15, 2011