Cornered, suspect in 3 slayings kills self

CANDLER – By all accounts, Richard Heatwole just snapped.
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New Year's Eve marked the end of a long, bitter divorce that left him with rights to see the kids on the weekends and a court order to be out of the family home by 5 p.m. that day.
His golf driving range business was losing money, according to court papers, and two months before he was threatened with jail time for not paying child support.
Investigators on Friday were still sorting out the details of what happened from the time Heatwole was to hand his former wife the keys to their Candler home and his apparent suicide in a police standoff 100 miles away.
Deputies found Angie Heatwole, 49, dead about noon Thursday morning in a downstairs bedroom of the house at 272 Old U.S. 19-23 in Candler.
Divina Gracia Agulto, 43, who had been renting a room there, was dead upstairs. Next door, Lesley Curtis Moore Keogh was dead on her front porch.
Agulto lived in Buncombe County since at least 2005, when she had a Fairview address, records show. She listed a Bronx, N.Y., address in 2003. Family members could not be reached Friday.
Before moving to Candler, records show Keogh lived in Asheville, Pennsylvania and Florida. A woman who identified herself as related to Keogh declined comment when reached by phone Friday.
Charles Rice rented the house at 264 Old U.S. 19-23 to Keogh for about five years. Rice said Keogh lived at the home by herself.
“She was a very pleasant lady, who always paid her rent on time and fed the birds,” Rice said. “She didn't work. She had another means of support.”
Authorities would not divulge Friday how the three people died.
About the time investigators found their bodies, Heatwole was seen arriving with his 6-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter at his cousin's house in Taylorsville.
He said nothing about the three people investigators say he had just killed.
“We know that they were going through a divorce, we know that they had some disagreements over some different property that was to change hands between the two,” said Lt. Ross Dillingham of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office “We know that may have precipitated this incident, but for a definite on what happened, I don't know.”
Richard Heatwole married Angela Neilson on Sept. 4, 1997.
Their first child, Hailey, was born the next year. Their second, Hayes Alexander, was born in 2002.
A year later, Richard Heatwole adopted Chelsea Ann Heatwole, according to court papers.
Richard Heatwole operated a driving range called Big D's. Angie Heatwole worked at her family's fabric shop in Asheville.
They sent their kids to Evergreen Community Charter School and bought a house at the end of a long gravel drive in Candler. It had a trailer on the front of the property that Richard Heatwole used as his business office.
“I'd see him in passing, and he threw his hand up,” said neighbor Clyde Curtis, who lived across the highway. “He seemed friendly enough.”
The inch-thick court file on the Heatwole divorce doesn't say exactly what went wrong in the marriage.
The couple went through mediation in September 2006 and a month later reached a child-custody agreement.
Hailey and Hayes would see their father on the weekends and they would split holidays between the two parents.
Chelsea, who was 10 years older than her little brother, would be allowed to visit her father any time she wanted.
But the Heatwoles couldn't agree on what to do with the house.
She offered to sell him her share for $57,000. He didn't take it.
She wanted to put the property on the market but he wouldn't clean up trash and a junked truck to make it presentable to a buyer, according to the court papers. He continued to live there, refused to cut the grass and rented out a room.
The two sides and their attorneys fought for two years.
In November, a judge ordered Richard Heatwole to be out of the house by Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. He had to have his tenant out as well and leave the place in marketable condition.
On top of that, Heatwole was $1,759 behind in child support payments.
The court in September had threatened him with jail sentence, according to records. He paid his bill in full on Nov. 10, the day before a scheduled court hearing on the matter.
Deputies arrived at the Candler home looking for Angie Heatwole at 11:45 a.m. Thursday.
The deputies issued an Amber Alert for her two youngest children after finding her dead.
The alert sent to TV stations and newspapers caught the attention of a couple who had seen Heatwole drive up to a cousin's house in Taylorsville.
Authorities in Buncombe County had arrest warrants for kidnapping issued in the middle of the night, Dillingham said. Heatwole was charged with kidnapping because he had violated the terms of his custody agreement.
Meanwhile, the SWAT teams at the Alexander County Sheriff's Office and the neighboring Catawba County Sheriff's Office were assembling for a raid on the home of Michael Daniels, Heatwole's cousin. The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation was on the way.
Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan and his detectives headed for Taylorsville with the warrants in hand.
At 1 a.m., an officer used a patrol car loudspeaker to tell Heatwole he was surrounded and demand that he surrender.
It would be five hours before the Heatwole children were safe and out of the house.
Dillingham, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office lieutenant, estimates as many as 60 officers were outside Daniels' mobile home on Ode Kerley Lane when the call to surrender went out.
At 2 a.m. officers heard a gunshot inside the mobile home.
Heatwole had apparently killed himself with a .410 shotgun, Alexander sheriff's Capt. Keith Warren said.
Daniels shouted to police from his back door that his cousin had killed himself. But officers couldn't be sure they weren't walking into a trap. And Daniels was afraid he would be shot if he came out, Sheriff Hayden Bentley said.
So officers continued the standoff for nearly four more hours, talking to Daniels first by loudspeaker, then by a phone they dropped on his doorstep.
They tried to talk Heatwole's daughter into coming out when she stuck her head out the door.
Officers shot out some outdoor lights to keep themselves out of sight of those inside.
To prove Heatwole was dead, Daniels agreed to take an SBI camera into his house. It transmitted video to officers of Heatwole's body on the floor.
They entered the house without incident at about 5:30 a.m., arresting Daniels and ushering the children into a patrol car. more

DNA test doesn’t stop Oklahoma man's child support liability

When an Oklahoma man’s ex-wife told him she was pregnant, he asked if he was the father.
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"She said, ‘Yeah, 100 percent sure you’re the dad,’ so I didn’t question it past that,” the man said.
But that man, who asked to remain anonymous because of pending litigation, says testing shows otherwise. He provided The Oklahoman with a copy of genetic test results dated Nov. 10 from Identigene showing he is not the father. State law, though, compels him to continue paying child support even though he’s not a biological parent — and there are more like him.
Nearly 25 percent of about 3,000 paternity tests conducted by the state Department of Human Services from July 2007 through June ruled out the supposed father as the biological parent. Nationally, that number reaches nearly 30 percent, according to the American Association of Blood Banks.
State limitsDHS only performs genetic testing within the first two years of a child’s life, which is the state limit on contesting paternity.
After the two years, "it comes into the best interests of the child and protecting the child to ensure that there’s a source of reliable support,” said Jeff Wagner, spokesman for the DHS Child Support Enforcement Division.
The child the Oklahoma man pays child support for is nearly 5 years old. more

N.Y. lawmakers: No more taxes on child support

TROY — Rensselaer County legislators on both sides of the aisle have sponsored resolutions asking Congress to once again fund programs that support child support collection enforcement.
Such programs used to be funded by the federal government, but as part of the Deficit Reduction Act, signed into law in 2006 by President George W. Bush, funding was cut. To use the programs, child support recipients have to pay a $25 fee after $500 in child support is collected.
"The child support enforcement program has proven to be an effective program, assisting families in obtaining the money they need for basic necessities," said Democratic Minority Leader Ginny O'Brian, who sponsored the minority's resolution. "Child support accounts for up to 30 percent of the total income for some poverty-level families, and to take a fee out of that money is just not right."
Republican Legislator Martin Reid, sponsor of the majority's resolution said, "The majority has introduced a resolution calling for the child support fee to be rescinded. We feel the fee is unfair and unnecessary, and Congress should act immediately to end the practice."
Many who oppose the fee cite the impact it has on needy families. "The child support fee unfairly takes money away from families who are already facing challenges," said Republican Legislator Lester Goodermote. "Our residents pay enough in taxes and fees and this is one governmental

surcharge that should be junked as soon as possible." more

I was laid off my job, can I get a break on child support?

Q I was one of hundreds of people laid off from my job recently. I’ve been looking for a new job, but I haven’t found anything yet. With no income, I haven’t been able to make any child support payments to my ex-wife. I’m not a deadbeat dad; I’m just out of work. Can I get my payments lowered or suspended until I find work?
A. Maybe. You can hire a lawyer and seek court approval for a modification of your court-ordered child support payments. However, by the time your case gets heard, you may already have a new job or you may be impossibly far behind on your payments.
Another option is to talk to your ex-wife to see if she would let you pay less than you owe, or perhaps nothing, until you find a new job, with the understanding that you will attempt to make up the missed payments when you are able.
Even if your ex-wife is not agreeable to your plan, you should still try to pay as much as you can each month. Later, if you find yourself in court defending your lack of payments, you will be able to demonstrate that you paid all you could afford, even though you were out of work.
But don’t forget: Interest adds up quickly on unpaid and underpaid amounts. Plus, the law does allow a judge to send you to jail for failing to make the child support payments.

federal judge has rejected a lawsuit to stop Massachusetts from imposing new child support guidelines.

BOSTON — A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit that sought to stop Massachusetts from imposing new child support guidelines.
Fathers and Families, a Boston-based group that pushes for reform of child custody and support policies, last month sued Judge Robert Mulligan, the state’s chief administrative judge over new guidelines that went into effect Jan. 1. The group claims the new guidelines are unfair and do not take into account the costs of raising children.
Judge Douglas Woodlock on Monday denied the group’s request for an injunction to stop the new guidelines from being used in family court. The judge said it would be inappropriate for the federal courts to get involved in a battle over state regulations. more

Fathers’ group sues to stop new child support rules

A nonprofit organization opposing revisions to the Massachusetts child support guidelines that took effect on Jan. 1 appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in Boston this morning to ask for a halt to their implementation.
Fathers & Families, a Boston-based group that advocates for “children’s right to the love and care of both parents after separation or divorce,” filed suit against Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan and other trial court judges on Dec. 23. That same day, the group filed a request for a preliminary injunction in hopes of preventing judges in Massachusetts from applying the new guidelines to cases involving child support after Jan. 1, 2009.
Ned Holstein, executive director of Fathers & Families, served on the 12-member task force convened by Mulligan in 2006 to rework the guidelines. He told Lawyers Weekly in an interview for a story last November about the new guidelines that he tried in vain to convince the task force that the revisions would prove too expensive for many non-custodial parents. When the task force unveiled the new guidelines in November, Holstein wrote a dissenting report that characterized them as flawed and unfair.
In its lawsuit, Fathers & Families argues that Mulligan and the Trial Court violated the federal equal protection clause by implementing discriminatory rules, the federal due process clause by passing a law by “judicial fiat,” and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights by passing a law without the participation of the other two branches of state government.
The group also argues that the new guidelines are “arbitrary and capricious” where the Trial Court did not consider, as statutorily required, any “data on the cost of raising children.”more

Dad Ordered to Pay Child Support Kills Son

NEW ORLEANS — A man who initially told police gunmen kidnapped his 2 1/2-year-old son was arrested Saturday, accused of committing an "extremely hideous" murder because he was ordered to pay child support, Police Superintendent Warren Riley said.
Danny Platt confessed, told police where to find the child's body and will be booked with first-degree murder of Ja' Shawn Powell, Riley said at a news conference.
"He had said he would kill either his wife or his child before he paid child support," which he recently had been ordered to do, Riley said.
Riley said he did not know the amount of child support and would not describe how the boy was killed, saying the coroner would do that after the autopsy was complete. The coroner's spokesman did not immediately return a call.
"The mother is in a safe place," Riley said.
Although he had visiting rights, Platt, 22, of New Orleans, had never visited the boy until he picked him up Friday, Riley said.
Police put out a notice Saturday asking people to look for the boy and saying his father had told them three men with dreadlocks and AK-47 rifles had piled out of an SUV and kidnapped Ja' Shawn shortly before midnight Friday. more

Ex-colonel gets prison in Cumberland County paternity scam

Former Army Col. Scott Carlson was sentenced to 4 to 23 months in Cumberland County Prison this afternoon for convincing a fellow Army War College student to take a paternity test for him.
President Judge Edgar B. Bayley imposed the penalty after Carlson's lawyer, Dennis Boyle, urged that the retired officer be given probation instead.
Boyle said Carlson, 53, of Swansea, Ill., will appeal the sentence.
Bayley said he sent Carlson to prison because the crime "struck at the heart" of the county Domestic Relations Office's efforts to ensure children receive support.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Derek Clepper said the prison term was exactly what he was seeking.
A county jury convicted Carlson in September on charges including theft by deception, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
Authorities said that in April 2007 Carlson persuaded fellow war college student Bruce Adkins to go to the Domestic Relations office in his stead and provide a DNA sample for a paternity test.
Investigators said Carlson, who retired from the Army this past summer, was trying to avoid paying child support for a 10-year-old daughter he had fathered through an extramarital affair with an enlisted soldier.
Carlson had been paying support for the girl without a court order, but in late 2006 the mother asked for a higher amount of court-ordered support.
Adkins testified against Carlson and is scheduled for trial in January. Clepper didn't rule out the possibility that Adkins might be offered a plea deal. more

Domestic matters before courts steadily increasing

The number of domestic matters before the courts are steadily increasing each year and as of late child support cases are also on the rise, Deputy Magistrate Helen Jones revealed.
Noting that a total of 698 domestic matters were filed for the year in Grand Bahama alone, Jones said that number is up 19 from last year, which saw 679 cases.
Within five years, the case load of domestic matters increased by 216.
In 2003, 482 cases were filed; 536 in 2004; 598 in 2005 and in 2006, there were 621 cases.
"The majority of cases that have come to my court lately have been child support," Magistrate Jones said, pointing out that usually most of the domestic matters would be binding over orders and legal separations. more

Andre Rison former WR for the Chiefs , is facing court-ordered bankruptcy

Andre Rison, who played WR for the Chiefs from 1997 to 1999, is facing court-ordered bankruptcy.
Former NFL and Michigan State receiver Andre Rison faces a court-ordered bankruptcy to pay more than $105,000 in back child support and other claims.
Terese Dear, a courtroom deputy for U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Flint, said an order was entered June 6 to put Rison into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Rison, a Flint native, has until June 25 to respond before the court proceeds with efforts to recover his assets, Dear said.
Rison owes child support, attorney fees and court administrative costs, according to a bankruptcy court petition.
Rison's ex-wife, Tonja Rison of Southfield, is listed as one of the creditors. Her claim is for more than $58,000 in child support. An Atlanta law office is claiming another $46,000 in unpaid legal fees for seeking child support from Rison for two children by a girlfriend. more

Parents Say Beware of Bogus Child Support Collection Companies

MEMPHIS, TN -- If you are paying child support in Tennessee, you may want to make sure it is going to the proper location. If not, you might not get credit for the payment and you could end up in jail. Mitch Morgan is the director of the Child Support Services division at the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County. Morgan says many times, parents are sending money to a private collection agency, but they think they are sending money to the state.Morgan says a company operating in the Memphis area is called “Child Support Services.” Morgan says the name is deceiving. Many parents think when they call that agency; they are calling the Juvenile Court. Morgan says the paperwork the company sends out looks like the official state paperwork. Morgan says the company illegally issues wage garnishments. That means the money is taken directly from the person’s paycheck. The company lists an address of 111 S. Highland, Suite 415. When Eyewitness News went to that location, we found a UPS Store. “Suite 415” is really a post office box. If you call information, you are told the company is located at 202 S. Court. However, when we went to that address it was a downtown parking lot.Anthony Strong has had child support taken out of his paycheck since April. Strong says even though the money is being garnished, his ex-wife is not getting the money. “Right now I feel taken advantage of “says Strong. He added “I feel sorry for my daughter because she is not getting the support I thought I was giving her.” more

DNA test doesn’t stop Oklahoma man's child support liability

"She said, ‘Yeah, 100 percent sure you’re the dad,’ so I didn’t question it past that,” the man said.
But that man, who asked to remain anonymous because of pending litigation, says testing shows otherwise. He provided The Oklahoman with a copy of genetic test results dated Nov. 10 from Identigene showing he is not the father. State law, though, compels him to continue paying child support even though he’s not a biological parent — and there are more like him.
Nearly 25 percent of about 3,000 paternity tests conducted by the state Department of Human Services from July 2007 through June ruled out the supposed father as the biological parent. Nationally, that number reaches nearly 30 percent, according to the American Association of Blood Banks.
State limitsDHS only performs genetic testing within the first two years of a child’s life, which is the state limit on contesting paternity.
After the two years, "it comes into the best interests of the child and protecting the child to ensure that there’s a source of reliable support,” said Jeff Wagner, spokesman for the DHS Child Support Enforcement Division.
The child the Oklahoma man pays child support for is nearly 5 years old. more

Charges filed for over $67,000 in child support

The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office filed more charges last week against two men who reportedly owe over $67,000 in child support and interest. One man owes money to two different women.

Brian K. Gulbronson, 37, Black River Falls, faces 16 failure to support charges in two separate cases while Darrell J. Towne, 38, Holmen, was charged with six similar offenses.

According to the criminal complaints, Gulbronson owes $40,372 in child support and $20,365 in interest as of Sept. 30. In one case, Gulbronson was to pay $84 a week beginning in July 2002, and his last payment of $165 was last March. In another case, he was supposed to pay $71 a week beginning July 2002, and his last payment of $135 was last March.

According to the complaints, Gulbronson has been found in contempt of court on at least two occasions. He last served 60 days in jail this summer but has not been in contact with the child support agency since his release. more

Delinquent support pay earns man prison time

COLUMBUS -- A 44-year-old Columbus man who “pathetically failed” in his last chance to catch up on a stack of unpaid child support bills was sentenced to 18 months to four years in prison in Platte County District Court.

District Judge Robert Steinke told Richard Delancey Wednesday he had “pathetically failed to comply with the terms of his probation” while sentencing the defendant to prison for his summer 2007 convictions on four counts of criminal nonsupport.

Steinke on Wednesday revoked the four-year probation sentence he imposed last summer against Delancey in what the judge at the time promised would be the defendant’s last chance to avoid a prison cell.

“While you don’t take the terms of your probation seriously, I do,’’ Steinke told Delancey, standing before him in front of the bench. “I gave you the opportunity to change your life ... it simply has not worked. The court is without any option. You have to be held accountable.”

Criminal nonsupport is a Class IV felony, punishable by a maximum of five years imprisonment, $10,000 fine or both and no minimum sentence. more

Dozens gather to remember child who was fatally beaten

The light of dozens of candles shines outside the former home of 20-month-old Imani Jennings.Police say the toddler was viciously beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend Friday, after she had a potty training accident. Both the mother, 20-year-old Cherron Patterson, and her boyfriend 15-year old Anthony Weakfall, were arrested Saturday.Dozens gather to remember child who was fatally beaten The murder of a young girl has drawn sympathy from across the Syracuse community. Sunday night, dozens of people came out to show their support for Imani Jennings at a candle light vigil. Allison Lazarz has more on the tribute and the message the little girl's biological father had for the community."I'm just disturbed. Every vigil that we do is hard it's frustrating, it's painful. This victim, from what I understand, people knew she was being left alone, people knew she was being abused and no one said anything. This is what needs to stop this is how we can bring our community together," said Rachel Titus, a member of the group Mothers Against Gun Violence. Imani's biological father came to the vigil to tell neighbors they need to keep an eye on one another."Make sure that we're looking out for the young people today and making sure we're involved in their lives so stuff like this won't happen," said Lee Jennings Jr., Imani's biological father.Even though some of baby Imani's relatives say this has been incredibly difficult, they say all the community support is helping them stay strong. "It takes a lot for somebody who doesn't know you to come out and support you in your time of need. It's soothing to know that there are people that will support me. That there are people who are hurting with me and that people are praying with me and that is why I smile," said Rohnda Wright-Jamison, Imani's grandmother.And she and neighbors at the vigil know Imani is now at peace.An exact time hasn't been set for her funeral.Related Stories

Make non-custodial parent pay $25 fee

Right here in New York state. Effective Oct. 1, a federally required annual service fee of $25 is being charged to the custodial parent who is receiving child support. This is starting to sound like a racket on how they are charging fees to collect money... DPHS charge interest on arrearage, charge a fee for collecting the money. I suppose DPHS makes millions of dollars each year, simply by relying on mothers to file for child support. A bill should pass to elminate how much money DPHS should actually make in a year...

Child-support laws need to be changed

I think that the new changes in child support has made some major improvements for the man, but the way they calculate needs work. How can a woman who makes more money than the man and still get tax free money as if she did not work?

The point should be made if a woman can terminate a childs life in 1 simple payment, a man should be able to terminate his rights to a child with 1 low payment. equality for all. Also, it is my belief that Court ordered support is re[*#@!]ulous. Maybe if the way support was calculated was better examined, there'd be less 'dead beat dads'. Just a thought.

Rounding Up Deadbeat Parents

Why is it so easy to find deadbeat fathers and moms but can not collect a dime? I think that in some case trying to squeeze blood from a turnip, is just not going to happen. The ideal to impose child support on a person who is living with his mom and then put him in jail, what is that really going to accomplish... In my mind repeat offenders usually have a hard time finding work. So even if its only 50 dollars a month, something is better than nothing. To impose a fine and take half of a mans check is not fair to the man or his family. You see until the judges start looking at what they do to the common man, they will never know how to be fair and impartial. So in 6 months they will have another round up.

Paternity tests prove hundreds are not the father

The Daily Telegraph can reveal 18 men, cleared by DNA testing, have made use of changes permitting them to claw back funds paid through the Child Support Agency. More than 300 men have been cleared by DNA of being fathers. Documents obtained under Freedom of Information show orders for $171,567 to be returned have so far been made against the mothers.

The money that was paid to them is being garnisheed from mothers' incomes by the Child Support Agency in the same way that payments are taken from the wages of non-custodial fathers. In each case the duped men were able to prove beyond doubt in the courts they were not the fathers based on DNA paternity testing. The new law, section 143 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act, requires the Family Court to consider issuing orders for repayment where paternity is successfully challenged and child support has been paid.
The law allowing such repayment debts to be collected by the Child Support Agency became effective on January 1 last year. In the biggest case, Queensland man Ken Rodgers obtained orders for the repayment of $60,000 after making child support contributions over a decade to a woman who refused to even send him a photograph of his alleged child.

The happy note is that some fathers are being reimbursed for their payments for a child that was not his, although what about the fathers who have proved the child is not theirs and can not get his money back...

Is that really justice?

Indiana man gets four years in prison for not paying child support

ZANESVILLE — An Indiana man received four years in prison Monday in a Muskingum County Common Pleas court for not paying child support, according to the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office.
Adonis Brooks, or Kenneth T. Brooks, 48, was sentenced to the prison term by Judge Mark Fleegle and ordered to pay $51,260.83 in back child support for six children. This is the worse thing that the Courts could do to a man. When they lock him up they not only punish him but punish the childern as well. If the Courts would spend as much time trying to work with the person behind on support as they do trying to lock them up maybe, just maybe they could get something accomoplished other than locking them up. The worse thing that can happen to this man is interest on arrearage! You see after child support reaches a certain limit, it becomes impossible to pay back!

Dead Man can pay no Child Support...

This is about Scott Peterson who keeps receiving a letter to pay his child support. Although DHS is probably wondering how Peterson manages to evade the police for the past 10 years. Well I thought I would help the Jacksonville DHS out... Forget the countless letters that has been sent, or unlimited phone calls that has been attempted. I sure hope that what I am going say will help you out. Scott Peterson is dead! As a matter of fact he has been dead for 10 years now...As a matter of fact it made the news when he was murdered! Maybe you morons in that town could read your mail or even answer the phone? I can only imagine how much interest that has accrued during this 10 year period?

State of Tennessee sued for seeking child support from wrong man

By Ann KnefIllinois resident Joshua Brown is suing the state of Tennessee for sending him a notice indicating he had a child in Tennessee with a female other than his wife.Brown claims the state sent him a non-custodial parent delinquency notice on March 26 indicating he was responsible for past due child support. "The Notice was discovered by his wife," states the complaint filed Oct. 7 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. "Mr. Brown's parents and in-laws learned of the Notice from his wife and also inquired."Brown claims he "reassured all" that he was not having an extra marital affair that produced a child.He claims he informed the state that it had the wrong person by pointing out the difference in middle initial and social security number, but the state persisted by notifying his employer. He claims he also received a notice that his income would be withheld for child support."Plaintiff's wife again saw these various documents again causing turmoil and strife in the home," the complaint states. "Plaintiff again tried to assuage his family's fears. Brown claims he contacted an attorney after the state sent him a notice that his employer was being directed to add the Tennessee child to his health care plan.He claims the correspondence eventually ceased when the state was "apparently satisfied" that it had the wrong man.His suit seeks damages for defamation."This publication caused his pregnant wife and himself severe hardship, caused plaintiff to lose sleep, have constant anxiety, suffer humiliation, embarrassment, nervousness and mental pain and suffering," the complaint states. "That Defendant knew or should have known of the falsity of such statements considering the different middle names and different social security numbers."Brown is represented by Jarrod Beasly of the Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville. He is seeking "an amount in excess of $50,000 for the damage to his reputation at work, at home and within his family, punitive damages and cost of this suit."

Child support appeal rejected

PIERRE - A Stanley County man failed to show a substantial change in financial circumstances in his bid to have child-support payments lowered, the state Supreme Court says.Three months after agreeing to $1,350 monthly support payments for two children following a divorce, Andrew Heiss asked to have his obligation dropped to $100 a month. He said his income had been cut and he had the children half the time. He said his position as assistant manager in a company that operated a farm for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe had been changed to ranch hand.The Supreme Court unanimously sent the case back with direction that the requested cut in payments be denied.

The high court said Heiss had the burden of proving that he had experienced a substantial change in financial conditions because he had agreed to the original support order. He didn't do that, the court said.

Heiss :I would like to know where you get the information you print, the truth is the obligation to pay child support is $703 dollars a month. And I do have the kids half time , and My income had changed I already proved that in court .

No pay, no drive

Parents may lose licenses if they don't pay their child support...
Morethan 15,000 parents who are not paying child support are facing, losing their driver’s, professional and/or recreational licenses if they don’t payup soon. Letters from the Department of Human Services warning delinquent parents are arriving in mailboxes across Tennessee. The notices inform parents that if they are behind at least $500 in their child support and haven't made a payment in more than 90 days, they could lose their license(s). "We are absolutely committed to making sure children in this state receive their court-ordered support,” said Human Services Commissioner Gina Lodge. “Having a child means taking responsibility for that child, and it is appalling that so many parents men and womenare walking out on that duty. License revocation is awake-up call that works for thousands of parents who have been ordered,but are not paying their support.”There are more than 20,000 licenses currently at risk. Parents who face the loss of their driver’s, professional or recreational licenses include registered nurses, real estate agents, security guards, and teachers. How can you stop a income, then expect a person to pay? Right ot wrong, 2rongs don't make a right!

Revocation letters have been sent to non-paying mothers and fathers in every county in Tennessee, covering more than 4,500 cases in Shelby County,2,250 in Davidson County, 1,350 in Knox County and 1,150 in HamiltonCounty.State and federal law allows DHS, which administers theChild Support Program, to revoke the licenses of parents who fail topay their child support. The notices inform parents that they can prevent revocation if they contact their local child support office and set up payment plans, or repay the past due amount. Traditionally, halfof the parents who receive notices end up working with DHS to pay offtheir child support obligation. However, last year more than 7,000 licenses were revoked due to failure to pay.This year, data matches between DHS and the Department of Safety identified more than 18,000 driver's licenses of persons meeting the requirements forrevocation of their licenses. More than 400 professional licenses issued by the Departments of Commerce and Insurance, Health andEducation are also at risk. Approximately 1,200 hunting and fishing licenses will also be subject to revocation. In addition to the license revocation program, the Child Support division and its partners use enforcement tools such as administrative wage assignmentor garnishment, liens and federal intercept programs to collectsupport. In recent months, DHS intercepted 41,000 federal economic stimulus checks, totaling more than $24 million. There are currently 260,000 child support cases under court order in Tennessee. Of these, roughly 55 percent pay their court ordered support in atimely manner. For more information on the Child Support Program, visit the DHS Web site at state.tn.us/humanserv/cs/cs_main.htm

Ex-Coach Gets Probation For Repeated Fondling Of Student

Matthew Lindholm Must Register As Sex Offender

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- A former business teacher and girls basketball coach at Central High School in Grand Junction has been sentenced to five years intensive probation for the attempted sexual assault of a student.
Matthew Lindholm, 33, had pleaded guilty in July to a felony charge of attempted sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.
He was accused of repeatedly fondling and kissing a 14-year-old girl in his office at the school between January 2007 and February 2008. Lindholm resigned from the district on Feb. 11, citing family issues. more

121 men in child pornography operation on the Internet

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police have arrested 121 men and seized millions of computer files in the country's biggest operation against child pornography on the Internet.

Investigators uncovered a worldwide network that was trading millions of files.

Authorities are looking at 96 others but they have not been placed into custody yet, Manuel Vazquez, the national police chief of the technology investigative brigade, Wednesday.
Eight-hundred police officers participated in the raids on more than 200 homes in most of Spain's provinces.
The operation was conducted in cooperation with federal police in Brazil, which uncovered a worldwide file-sharing network that was trading millions of files in 75 countries. more

Tenn. To Revoke Licenses Over Late Child Support

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state warned parents delinquent on child support payments that they risk losing their drivers licenses, professional licenses and hunting and fishing licenses if they don't pay.

Tuesday a news release from the Department of Human Services said that letters were delivered across the state to parents who were behind at least $500 and hadn't made a payment in more than 90 days.

More than 7,000 licenses were revoked last year for failure to pay, and the Department of Human Services said there were more than 20,000 licenses at risk. The professional licenses in jeopardy of being revoked include registered nurses, real estate agents, security guards and teachers.

'They go to prison and still owe child support when they get out…and owe double what they originally owed.

The way the laws are written now, a felon who owes child support can owe more and face more jail time. I admit that the person should not have committed a crime, but they did. Now with the insane laws favoring the custodial parent, Since interest and penalties accrue rapidly, many former prisoners struggle under a staggering debt they will never pay off. Some return to jail because of nonpayment of child support. Others are re-incarcerated after turning to illegal activity to support themselves, because at low wage lawful jobs, 40 or 50% or more of their paychecks are garnished to pay the debt. The costs of these crimes and of re-incarcerating the ex-offenders vastly outweigh the puny sums states collect in back child support.
The amount should either stop the minute he gets incarcerated or debt should be paid in full when a sentence is given to the inmate. Doing anything more than that is setting the inmate up for failure.
Moreover, these debts often make it impossible for ex-offenders—many of whom are young mothers and fathers who were incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses—to play a meaningful role in their children’s lives. And prisoners pay for their crimes with their time behind bars—these debts often amount to a punishment artificially extended beyond their sentences.

The new report, Repaying Debts, was commissioned by the Justice Department and produced by the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. It makes some useful recommendations, including capping payments at 20% of an ex-offender’s income and streamlining the collection process…

Unfortunately, numerous legislative attempts to resolve the issue have been defeated, often through demagoguery. For example, in 2005, the California Assembly Republican Caucus helped defeat a modest reform bill, with one leading Republican Assemblyman explaining, “The state should never aid and abet a convicted criminal in avoiding child support.”

Fixing this problem has nothing to do with helping criminals. It instead acknowledges the obvious—parents who are unable to work are unable to pay. All of us want ex-offenders to return to legal employment instead of crime. The Justice Department's new report demonstrates that one important way to reduce recidivism is to end the child support system abuses these ex-offenders face.

S.C. court issues summons for old 63-cent child-support bill

S.C. court issues summons for old 63-cent child-support bill

Kathleen Threatt was summoned the court because she failed to pay child support in Sumter County, S.C.

Why is this news?

Because WLTX-TV says her 12-year-old bill totaled 63 cents.

"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was

"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was laughing so hard," Threatt, 45, tells the station. "It doesn't make sense."

Threatt's children are grown. In fact, she's now a grandmother.

The mother of T.I childern suing for more child support

The mother of T.I.’s oldest 2 children, Lashon Dixon, is suing Clifford for more child support. She says the current $2000/month she gets for both boys just isn’t cutting it and they need a raise. It is a recession peoples. According to the Associated Press, Lashon Dixon has been reportedly been receiving $2,000 a month for their two 7 and 8 year-old boys. Rather than demanding a specified amount, the 29 year-old is requesting a court to order a stipend equal to Tip’s financial success.

child support tax unfair for single parents

I'm a single father, and I've never received child support. Those who do get a check often pay for it in blood, sweat and tears. As a matter of fact I also pay child support as well and that's a battle I have trouble managing myself.
I consider myself one of the unlucky that I have that ongoing war each day. Single moms and dads often barely make ends meet -- especially in a county where the number of working poor rises each year. Raising kids is a two-person job, and paying for the little monsters often requires aunts, uncles and grandparents to chip in.
Now, the federal government is demanding that custodial parents pay a $25 yearly fee to receive child support. And guess when those first payments are due?
2007's is due in September. 2008's is due in October. From there on out, the annual fee is paid in October.

Parents are trying to scrape money to get their kids back in school. $25 may not seem like a lot, but it's a pair of shoes, a uniform, a backpack or lunch fees for the month for a child.
That's right. One child. Imagine if you're trying to outfit two or three.
And in a slap to self-reliant working parents, those who have EVER received cash or food assistance in any form are exempt, as are those who collect less than $500 in child support. Receive $501 per year in child support and you pay the fee.

Child support should be just that, to pay support for the child! This should not be an opportunity for the government to figure out ways to get extra money by any means possible...

ex-radio host gets 7 years for child porn

A former San Francisco radio talk show host and former Roman Catholic priest was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Thursday for distributing child pornography.

Bernie Ward, 57, pleaded guilty in May to one count of distributing child pornography. Prosecutors said investigators found dozens of pornographic images of children as young as 3 on Ward's home computer, including masochistic images of children bound and gagged.

"He traded in the currency of children's suffering," federal prosecutor Steve Grocki said.

Ward, a father of four known for his staunchly liberal views, hosted a nightly radio show until the station fired him when the child pornography indictment was made public in December.

A Stanislaus County woman who exchanged sexually explicit Internet messages with him called police after Ward sent her a photograph of two children engaged in a sex act.

She also provided police with transcripts of a conversation where Ward said he was aroused when his daughter walked in the bathroom while he showered, according to court documents.

"I find it extremely troubling that a parent would say the things he wrote in those messages," U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker said before sentencing him to seven years and three months.

Ward's attorney, Doron Weinberg, had argued for five years, the mandatory minimum prison sentence. He cited numerous letters of support Ward received after pleading guilty and Ward's volunteer work.

Weinberg has said Ward downloaded the child porn for journalistic research.

"It's clear that it ended in a dark place," Weinberg said. "Bernie Ward is a good man."

Brangelina Eligible For Child Support

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are probably the last couple on the planet who needs monetary support to raise their children. But leave it to France to offer it as an option!

Because the Jolie-Pitts are now residents of Brignoles, they are now eligible to receive child support in the amount of $2600 a month. That means they would receive money for a nanny and be compensated for their children who were adopted.

A spokesperson for Brignoles Council says, "We do not discuss individual benefits cases. But can confirm that all resident local families with young children are eligible for certain benefits."

Let's hope they don't accept the offer! And if they do, they'd probably put it right into charity anyway!

Stimulus checks boost child support collections

Davidson County has joined the rest of the state in witnessing a jump in child support collections primarily because of payments from stimulus packages intended to boost the nation's economy, according to the Tennessee Department of Human Services.

During July, $5.1 million was collected in child support, up 11 percent from the same period last year in Nashville.


Judicial districts statewide collected a record-setting $530 million in child support for the last fiscal year, up from $508 million the previous fiscal year.

Of the state's collections, nearly $24 million came from economic stimulus payments, according to DHS.

Stimulus payments are diverted to child support if a parent is at least $500 behind on child support.

"It's been a really wonderful benefit to children and families of the state relying on child support," said Michelle Mowery Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services.

An intercept program allows DHS to divert economic stimulus payments, lottery winnings and tax refunds toward child support.

"This is helping to pay for the daily necessities the rent, the groceries, the mortgage, the new school shoes," Johnson said.

The stimulus payments provide short-term relief, and DHS officials said they expect the numbers to drop next month.

Davidson County performs better than many others in the state but is being included in a cluster that is targeted for performance improvement.

The county was one of four in the state that showed a slight dip in collection payments in the last fiscal year.

"I think last year was harder than most as far as the economy and the things that affect the collections for child support," said Charles Bryson, director of field operations for child support at DHS.

Easton man tries to pay support with pennies

Grant Trump says he understands why he has to pay child support but he didn't like the smug attitude he received from the support office in Caroline County.

The Easton man was turned away last week when he tried to pay his balance with more than $1,000 in rolled pennies after he was found by a judge to be in arrears.

He tells The Star-Democrat, "I was determined if I was brought to court for something bogus then I'm going to be bogus about it." When his coins were refused, he says officials told him they would get his money one way or the other.

Trump says a supervisor called him Friday and apologized for not accepting the payment. He plans to make arrangements this week to return with his pennies.

Yung Joc, Girlfriend Clarify Child Support Situation

Rapper Yung Joc came forward yesterday (August 18) to clarify recent allegations made by his seven-year-old son’s mother regarding late child support payments.

Speaking to Atlanta radio personality Ryan Cameron, Joc explained the existing arrangement between him and his son’s mother Fatimah Jester, just three days after she appeared on a local television news broadcast, Yung Joc was behind on child support payments.


“When I got on, I was only ordered to pay $114 a month because the courts couldn’t determine how much money I was gonna make,” Yung Joc explained during a live interview on V-103’s Ryan Cameron Show. “I was like, ‘What the hell is that? Who can survive on that?’ As far as it looked to them, I didn’t have a job. But I was paying more [than what was ordered]. And something came up one day, and she came to me and said, ‘I think we need to sit down and talk, because I need more money.

“My attorney got with her attorney, I think we did it in a cool fashion,” Joc continued. “We came up with an agreement: I was paying $2000 a month, I would take care of all his medical issues, expenses, extracurricular activities, anything to do with my son. And that was the agreement, and I never missed a payment.”

A few hours earlier, Jester contacted V-103 personality Porsche Foxx.

While she maintained that a discrepancy existed, she explained that Joc was not behind on child support payments, as had been reported on Friday (August 15).

The issue at hand, she said, was that the payments were not timely. Joc, born Jasiel Robinson, stated in his own defense that what his son’s mother is referring to as lateness is a matter of a couple of days, a delay that may simply be caused by how his child support payments are processed.

“I don’t pay it directly to her, I pay it through [the Georgia Department of Resources Office of Child Support Services],” said Joc. “My banker wires the funds to DHR, they wire the funds right to her account. However long that takes, she needs to discuss that with them, and not put me out there bad like that.”

While he says he is more hurt than angered by his former girlfriend’s actions, Joc did express anger at the media for exploiting the situation and jumping at the opportunity to paint him in a negative light.

In addition to reporting that he owed back child support, which Jester never claimed, the WSB-TV report pointed out only his previous encounters with the law.

“They brought up all the charges I been through,” Joc pointed out. “But they never brought up the fact that since I been on, I’ve contributed over half a million to charities and I do charitable work every week…you got cats out here who don’t even be with their kids. And it hurts even more because I am a black man…you born into this world as a black man, your back’s against the wall. So I’m trying to do everything I can to go against the odds that was against me when I’m born…and when you look up in the media at stuff like this depicting your character to be just what they stereotype you as, it hurts.”

Does child support change if another child is born?

If a person who pays child support has a baby with a new partner does the CS for the older child get reduced because the payer has to also support the new child even though new child lives in household with payer?
Unfortunately no, the child that is the last to be born is the one that really has the least of rights. It may not be fair but the Court always has the interest of the child who is getting the child support. There are many of children who currently suffer because a percentage of money is sent to another house hold. So the best interest of the child is bias.

'Wanted' posters help find parents

Every six months, a new set of faces that represent 10 parents "wanted for failure to pay child support" is plastered on posters displayed across Mississippi.

The Department of Human Services hasn't received much response from its latest poster. But DHS officials say the poster technique, used since the late 1990s, results in a minimum 60 percent success rate in locating the men and women.
Getting them to pay is a different matter. Some people don't have the money to support their children, said Walley Naylor, director of the Division of Child Support Enforcement.
"And some people will pay because they don't want their picture on that poster," he said. "It lets people know we're serious."
One thousand posters are scattered throughout the state at post offices, state buildings and child-support offices in each county. The poster also is on DHS's Web site.
To be pictured on the poster, parents must owe at least $10,000 and lack any information that would help locate them, such as a current address or employer.
"When these noncustodial parents don't support their children, taxpayers get the bill for their financial and medical support," the poster says. It names the parents and gives a toll-free number for DHS.
Nsombi Lambright, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Mississippi, said she's not sure if the poster violates privacy rights. The ACLU has protested statewide billboards that feature photographs of sex offenders.
"I'm sure resources can be used more effectively to help families and support the lives of children," Lambright said.
But Craig Robertson, a Ridgeland family law attorney who handles child-support cases, said he believes the posters serve as a deterrent.
"I think most fathers don't want to be considered a deadbeat dad," he said.
One woman is featured in the latest poster.
DHS announced last week that Mississippi received millions more in child-support payments over the last fiscal year because of more efficient collection methods.
Heavy caseloads prevent the state from collecting a lot more money.
DHS served 468,548 children during the fiscal year that ended June 30, and collected more than $264 million in child support. That's a $21.9 million increase over the previous fiscal year. About 65,000 families are getting some form of child support each month, up from 62,000 the year before.
About $800 million has gone uncollected during the last 20 years, Naylor said.
Mississippi uses a variety of methods to enforce child-support payments. Some of those include withholding income, intercepting taxes and unemployment benefits, denying passports and suspending driver's licenses.
"Most people pay, in my experience, without having to be repeatedly sued," said James Bell, a Jackson family law attorney who handles child-support cases. "There is a significant number who don't pay."
Sometimes parents leave the state or stop reporting income to avoid child-support payments, Naylor said.
Bell said sometimes parents can't afford to pay because they lost their job or business. And sometimes a rocky relationship with their ex plays a factor, he added.
"If you can get them to focus on the welfare of a child, most people say, 'I want to help my child, regardless of how I feel about my (ex),' " he said.

16-Yr.-Old To Pay Child Support

It's a situation fraught with so many twists and turns that if you saw it on a movie screen you might not believe it.
It began when a 19-year-old girl from the town of Lancaster, Ohio was accused of molesting a 15-year-old boy. Jane Crane was allowed to stay at the child's Columbus-area home when allegations surfaced that her stepfather was being abusive.
But something apparently clicked between the girl and the underage son of those providing her temporary refuge. She's since been charged with unlawful sexual conduct, after allegedly having physical relations at least twice with the underage boy.
So far, the story is somewhat sad, but not that unusual.
But here's where it takes an odd turn. The teen became pregnant as a result of the encounter and paternity tests prove the boy is the father of the little girl, who was born in late April.
Now a court has ordered the youngster to pay $50 a month child support, despite the fact the act that resulted in the child's birth was apparently illegal.
Crane, meanwhile, could face up to 18 months in jail if she's convicted, and that's now prompted the boy's family to try and gain custody of the newborn. The baby is currently living with Crane and her family not far away.
The parents of the now 16-year-old say that because of the allegations against the stepfather, they don't think their granddaughter is safe and they want to take her home with them. They're also outraged that a teenager said to be the victim of a crime has to pay child support.
The unidentified boy's parents claim their son is having nightmares and problems sleeping and that his life has been changed forever because of his naivete. His folks are hoping for a plea bargain to resolve the issue, even as the young mother awaits her own day in court this week.

So what is next a teacher molest a student 15 and she is 21; she gets pregnant and they expect the 15 year old to pay support, is that really right? I guess as a man he should have rapped it up?

Former basketball star Jason Caffey

A former NBA basketball star wants to back out of his own bankruptcy case, but lawyers for at least two of the seven mothers to whom he owes child support urge the judge to sell off his assets.

Faced with the threat of jail in two states, Jason Andre Caffey went to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Mobile a year ago, seeking breathing room to renegotiate tens of thousands of dollars' worth of child support debts.

So what is sad is he was running around having babies all over the place and can not even pay for what children he has had. Although he could have got caught in the system where he has several courts that are not acknowledging what the other courts are implementing as orders. Creating mass confusion.

Yung Joc Sued Over Child Support

Atlanta rapper Yung Joc has reportedly been sued by the mother of his seven-year-old son over child support.
According to WSBTV, Fatimah Jester claims that Joc owes her $2,000 in court-ordered child support payments and has refused to stay in touch with her. She also claims the rapper's missed payments have made it difficult for her to pay bills.
“I never thought he would be putting me through some of the stuff I'm going through now,” Jester said. “I can't even get in contact with him for things for my baby...it's just hard”.“The type of money he makes, $2,000 is nothing,” she added. “[He] has all kinds of cars, Bentleys, Mercedes Benz, Ranger Rovers, two Range rovers”.
It does not matter if he has 10 Bentleys, the key is he has a child that he is not paying child support for. Regardless of the situation he has a responsibility to his child and if he does not value his child, then maybe he would value some time sitting in jail!

Man Ordered To Prison In Child Support Case

A Cushing man was given a five-year prison term Friday by a Payne County judge for failing to pay back child support, now totaling $31,773.
Eleven years ago, Vernon Scott Turner was ordered to pay $350 per month for the support of his three children, who were then ages 3, 4, and 9 and living in Creek County.
At the time that he was criminally charged two years ago, Turner owed $24,423 in back child support, court records show.
Six months ago, while he was in the Payne County Jail, Turner, 45, pleaded guilty to failure to pay child support and was released on a personal recognizance bond.
When Turner failed to appear in court for his sentencing in March, a bench warrant was issued for the arrest of Turner, who has been in custody since Aug. 1.
In court Friday after prosecutor Kathy Thomas recommended a five-year prison term for Turner, defense attorney Todd Higgins attempted to withdraw Turner's guilty plea -- which was denied by Payne County District Judge Donald Worthington.
When the judge asked Turner why he hadn't complied with a court order to appear for a background report, Turner said he couldn't get a ride.
When the judge asked why he hadn't paid his child support, Turner said he couldn't get a job because he couldn't get a ride.
The judge ordered Turner, when he is released from prison, to begin paying $31,773 in restitution for back child support.

I still feel that it is sad that a man becomes a criminal that is getting major time for not paying child support. Is that really going to benefit the child?

Greenville church music minister has been sentenced

Minister arrested for back child support

GREENVILLE, S.C. - A Greenville church music minister has been sentenced to six months in prison for failing to pay more than $394,000 in back child support for his 13 children.


WYFF-TV in Greenville says a judge ordered Lyman Rea on Thursday to pay $37,000 before he's released. He was arrested Wednesday while preparing for an evening service at Second Baptist Church in Greenville.

It's unclear if Rea had an attorney. Calls to his home and the church were not immediately returned Thursday. A spokesman for the sheriff's department said he wasn't sure if the man had a lawyer.

Feds to get cut of Michigan child support checks

Starting next month, some parents who receive child support checks will see an annual fee of $25 taken out of their checks as part of a new federal law.
The change -- which was outlined in a recent letter sent to custodial parents by the state's child support office -- is expected to net nearly $3 million a year. Most of that money will be sent to the federal government to reduce its budget deficit.
The fee applies only if the parent does not receive food stamps for a child, does not and never has received cash assistance, and has received at least $500 in child support, said Marilyn Stephen, director of the Department of Human Services' Office of Child Support.
Its bad enough that the child support court already charges a fee to collect child support. Then they have a racket that the court can charge you interest on arearage fees goes beyond belief. So not only does the state benefit from child support but the federal government does as well, simply because you had a child. The fact that every man or woman who pays child support has a fee attach to his order to pay is insane! The child support system makes millions of dollars each year from people paying child support and even more for those individual who don't pay...

I personally am upset with state officials because the federal legislation gives different options for collecting the fee, but Michigan has chosen to withhold funds intended for kids instead of collecting it from the non-custodial parent or paying it directly out of the general fund.
Michigan legislators determined that it would be handled in this way once it starts in one state you can believe that other states will soon follow. At first child support was taken for the benefit of the child, now it will be to pay back the federal deficit. Once it works in this state you can only imagine that it will spread like wild fire accross the other 49 states.

Keep Track of child-care expenses

Child-care costs vary depending on the child’s age and where you live, but it’s not uncommon for these costs to be upwards of $6,000 per year.
One consolation for that particular expense is that it’s tax deductible. Parents can claim up to $7,000 for every child under the age of seven, $4,000 for every child age seven to 16, and up to $10,000 for a child who qualifies for the disability tax credit.
"Keep track of your child-care expenses in order to maximize the amount you can claim," says Christine Van Cauwenberghe, tax and financial planning expert with Investors Group. She says many parents make the mistake of not claiming the maximum amount of eligible expenses.
That would be an opportunity lost, as child-care amounts cannot be carried forward to future years.
Parents are advised to report each child 16 and under on their tax return, whether or not they incurred any expenses for that child. That way they can claim the cumulative amount for the children.
For example, suppose you have a child under age seven, and you’ve spent $9,000 on child care, or $2,000 above the limit.
You have another child age 10, and you’ve only spent $1,000 for after-school care. Because you are still under the cumulative total of $11,000, you can claim the entire amount.
Eligible expenses include day care and before-school/after-school care. There are also amounts that can be claimed for summer day camps and sports camps that have a child-care element.
For these types of summer child care programs parents are entitled to claim up to $175 for children aged six and under, $100 for children aged 7 to 16 and $250 for children with a disability.
"A week at an elite hockey school for a 15-year-old, geared towards improving his skills, would not be seen as child care, although it may qualify for the fitness tax credit."
Child care expenses have to be claimed by the lower income-earning spouse, and you can only claim up to two-thirds of your income.
If the child is in private school, and there is a before/after school care component, ask the school to itemize the bill to indicate what portion is for child care.
While tuition for the private school is not deductible, expenses related to child care can be deducted.
Parents can also claim the children’s fitness amount.
The non-refundable credit is worth up to $500 for children under the age of 16 enrolled in an eligible program of physical activity. Not every program meets the eligibility guidelines, so you need to ensure you know the requirements. Children with disabilities are eligible for a $1,000 credit up to the age of 18.
Single parents are also able to claim the Eligible Dependent Credit. This tax credit can also be claimed for a dependent grandchild, sibling, parent or grandparent.
If it’s being claimed for a child, grandchild or sibling, the dependent must be either under 18 years of age, or dependent by reason of mental or physical disability. Only one parent can claim this credit, and it can’t be claimed if you are making child support payments.
"Remember that child-care expenses have to be claimed in the year in which they are incurred," Van Cauwenberghe adds.
"Save all of your receipts, and maximize the amount you can claim."

Rick Ross sued for child support payment

The mother of rapper RICK ROSS' son is suing him over claims he does not pay child support.Tiallondra Nicole Kemp claims Ross has not offered financial support to raise their son, two-year-old William Leonard Roberts, III.Kemp has also asked a Florida court to order Ross to take a paternity test to prove he is the father's child. Kemp believes the results of the test will help establish her case. Kemp requests maintenance payments under the Florida Child SupportGuidelines and wants shared responsibility over the child.

Ricky Ross I feel for you son if you are the father, Flordia is not one of those states that takes paying child support lightly.

Sperm Donor obligated to pay child support

According to the opinion for the court by Judge Michael E. Vigil, the mother came to know the donor through her same-sex partner, and the three became friends. Mother and her partner wanted to have children together, and tried for some years to persuade their friend to donate sperm for them, with the understanding that he would be a male role model for the child but would not have any legal or financial obligation. After resisting for several years, the donor finally agreed and donated sperm, leading to the birth of a child. The insemination was accomplished at home without the participation of a physician. Shortly after the birth of the child, the donor, mother and her partner executed a written agreement embodying their understanding. The donor established a relationship with the child.Mother and her partner separated, but mother wanted to have another child, and the donor agreed to donate sperm for a new insemination under the same terms, although there was no written agreement governing the second child. Again, insemination was accomplished at home without a doctor’s participation. The second child was born, and again the donor sustained a relationship, now with both children, as a male parental figure. Three years after the birth of the younger child, mother demanded that donor provide child support and, when he balked, filed a paternity action in court seeking a support order. Donor agreed to a stipulated amount, which was approved by the court, and the donor has faithfully made the payments. But then three years later, mother demanded an increase. (In the meantime, donor had married and had three children with his wife). Donor again balked and this time the case went to a hearing, which focused on the donor’s income and led to an order substantially increasing his monthly payments. He appealed. ...The first ruling is clearly the more significant, addressing a question of first impression on the enforceability of the agreement under which the donor had agreed to contribute his semen to the project of mother’s pregnancies. The court found that under the agreement could have been enforceable under New Mexico ’s adoption of the Uniform Parentage Act, but the failure of the parties to involve a doctor in the insemination process when there was a "known donor" took these conceptions outside the jurisdiction of the Act’s provision on donor insemination. What remained in the absence of the Act was the clear public policy of New Mexico that a biological father of a child has a legal obligation of support if he has held himself out as the child’s father, and any purported agreement to the contrary is unenforceable as a matter of public policy.

What a idiot, he agreed to be a part of the childs life and then he acts surprised that the mother is expecting child support... I am sorry my friend you should have got a kiss, cause you just got screwed!

James McGreevey will pay child support, but not alimony

Former Gov. James E. McGreevey will not have to pay alimony to his ex-wife, a judge ruled Friday in granting the couple a divorce after a tumultuous eight-year marriage that crumbled publicly when McGreevey acknowledged he was a “gay American.”
A superior court judge ruled that McGreevey, the nation’s first openly gay governor, must pay $250 a week, or $1,075 a month, in child support for his 6-year-old daughter with Dina Matos. James E. McGreevey. Matos had argued that McGreevey was deliberately underemployed to evade paying alimony to support her, but the judge said that McGreevey was being supported by his rich boyfriend while studying at the seminary and, therefore, didn't need employment to support himself.
I can not believe the court is going to let this governor off the hook. What state is this that the man does not even have to get a job? His gay lover is rich and will make the child support payments so that lets McGreevy off? This is a travesty to the poor. The court is literally slapping this guy on the wrist and say you better pay, but don't worry if you don't have a job, we understand, wink-wink...This Court system has no shame.

INCARCERATION FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT IS INAPPROPRIATE

The demonization of noncustodial parents is used to justify all manner of inhumane treatment for those who owe child support. Sylvia Folk, a noncustodial mother, testified before Congress that she was incarcerated for seventy-two days for nonpayment. The judge candidly acknowledged his awareness that she lacked the money to pay but vowed to, and did, hold her until the ransom was paid by her church. As cruel as it sounds, the one remedy that almost always works is incarceration. Family court judges call it "the magic fountain."... For a destitute person, civil contempt is an inappropriate remedy to secure payment of a child support obligation: the party cannot be coerced into paying child support that instant, because she has no funds to pay it. Under such circumstances, incarcerating the appellant, and other destitute child support debtors similarly situated, serves no purpose at all. Tennessee's Court of Appeals lags behind the courts of our neighboring states in recognizing this fact.

The civil contempt in so many words should not have been a valid reason to hold that person incarcerated for 1 day or 1 year... When does the non-custodial parent have rights if they can not pay child support? Over and over Child support courts violate parents rights claiming that they are doing it for the protection of the child, what happens if the womans family or church could not have raised the money? After 1 year do they release her? Five years or 10. Those courts should be liable for violating that person civil rights!

Fugitive caught because he paid child support

Police arrested a fugitive wanted for selling drugs in Hoboken ... after they found him through child support payments.
Johnny Aviles failed to show up for his sentencing in 1995 after he was arrested for selling drugs in Hoboken. Aviles' arrest came as the result of an undercover drug sting in a Hoboken public housing complex; he was later indicted on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, escape and various other drug charges.
Aviles remained a fugitive for the next 13 years, until police found him yesterday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Investigators had tracked him down through child support payments he had made to a woman in Hudson County.

Sperm donors required to pay child support?

Just saw a little feature on this topic on Good Morning America, but a quick trip around google shows this isn't breaking news. Matter of fact last year in Pennsylvania a court ordered a man to pay child support to the lesbian couple that used his sperm after, get this, the couple broke up and one of the women needed help to pay her own court-ordered child support. And in this case from last year a man who had a relationship of a "patriarchal nature" with the child, was forced to pay child support conveniently around the time the child was set to enter college. I'll have to google around and see if, in the same spirit, women now have to have the father's approval before having an abortion.Moreover, the Good Morning America report said this is holding true even for anonymous donors, in cases where the mother needs help paying her own or her child's medical bills or, for the time being, other extenuating circumstances. So a woman can decide to impregnate herself and can then proceed to shakedown a stranger for money? As if being a husband and/or a father weren't a dangerous and financially risky enough proposition nowadays.

So is this the nature of how men will be treated? No respect?

What do you think should be the minimum payment ?

What do you think should be the minimum payment for child support by fathers? If the child does not live with both parents should clothes be at the separate homes. What advice would you give to fathers in regards to the upbringing of their kids in terms of financial, moral and emotional support?


Yolanda: “It should be $100 per week for a child. Sometimes children do have clothes at the other home depending on the type of father. Fathers must look after their children especially if they know they are theirs. They must rally behind their children 100 per cent because the children are their future.”



Anonymous: “I would say $100…Is reasonable. I shall talk for myself because some might not agree. I have a two-year-old son and I give him anything once his mother calls and asks. I never believe that a man should have to end up in courts for child support. If you didn’t want a child, you would not have gone there in the first place. Clothes should be shared at both homes. As a father, play the father’s role and be there at all times. Fathers, they are your children don’t let them go astray and go in gangs.”


Speechless: “I believe about $300. With the rising cost of living, $100 can’t do anything for anybody. Children should have clothes by both parents. Fathers must be aware of the essence of parental care in terms of discipline and financial support. Parental care could be categorised under financial arrangement. Love for your kids is very important too.”


Perry: “I have a daughter, she is one year, seven months, three weeks and six days. I believe there shouldn’t be a minimum, once you have it, give it. Fathers, whatever is yours belongs to your child as well. Yes, I believe that the clothes should be shared. Any shopping for the youth, both mother and father must deal with that responsibility collectively. Make time to see your youth as much as possible, no matter what’s on the agenda, always be there for them. Do not neglect a child because a child feels more of the love when both mother and father are around.”


Zardara Powell: “It should be $200 or at least $150 per week. What can $80 do and life is so hard? Yes, children who live with their moms should have clothes at their father’s place. I would tell the fathers to support their child/ren always”.

The point I think that these people are missing is not how much it cost to raise the child, but how much can the father pay and still support himself...

NEW CHILD SUPPORT LIMITS AS OF JULY 1, 2008

Nevada law places presumptive maximums on the amount of child support a person is obligated to pay. A parent must pay 18% of his/her income for one child and 25% for two children. The amount a person pays, however, is subject to a cap based on the income range the paying parent falls in. In other words, if the applicable percentage of the paying parent's income is more than the cap amount, the paying parent will only be responsible for paying the cap amount. The presumptive cap amounts increased on July 1, 2008. To view the cap amounts click here.

Presumptive Maximum Amounts of Child Support
2008 Schedule
NRS 125B.070
Presumptive Maximum Amounts Increased 4.1% Pursuant to the Consumer Price Index (All Items) Increase in Calendar Year 2007 (December - December) as Published by the U.S. Department of Labor. If you have any questions, please contact Deanna Bjork, Manager of Budgets, (775) 684-1708. (Historical Maximum Amounts (pdf))

PRESUMPTIVE MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF CHILD SUPPORT (NRS 125B.070)
EFFECTIVE JULY 1,2008 THROUGH JUNE 30,2009 ** REVISED MARCH 20,2008 **
Income Range Presumptive Maximum Amount
If the Parent's Gross Monthly Income is at Least But Less Than The Presumptive Maximum Amount the Parent May be Required to Pay per Month per Child Pursuant to

Paragraph (b) Subsection 1 is
$0 $4,235 $604
$4,235 $6,351 $664
$6,351 $8,467 $726
$8,467 $10,585 $785
$10,585 $12,701 $846
$12,701 $14,816 $906
$14,816 No Limit $968

Note: Issued by the Administrative Office of the Courts April 1 of each year in accordance with the provisions of NRS 125B.070 (3)

Establishing Paternity

The reason that I decided to write about this issue is because of the surge of men paying for children that actually are not their biological children. Surely this could'nt be true, right? The reality is all a woman has to do to establish paternity is to say that the baby is mine. This is were men get the shaft, if the man never receive information that he has to appear in court. Then the court automatically assumes that the man is the father. Of course it just that simple for a woman to go to court and make a claim and establish paternity. Now lets look at the flip side, they start garnishing the guys check talking about child support. He is livid and marches down to Department of Human Services (DHS) asking why is my check being garnished. They politely explain that paternity has been established and he is the father of a boy or girl. Now hold on to your seats and enjoy the ride. The accused is not afforded the opportunity to dispute such a claim without first appearing in court. Even after he makes a claim he then has to pay for a DNA test to prove the child is not his! (Please remember that he is still paying child support)... So the test comes back and proves he is not the father. Now he has to go back to court and show the proof to stop the garnishment. So after the court agree that the child is not mine, I have to wait for the court order to cease garnishing my check... This is the ugly part, all money that is paid to the mother who made the claim she gets to keep! This is food for the thought, you as an accused parent have a window of time to dispute a child being yours, if you don't then you are stuck paying support for the next 18 years...