So I’m at the office, working on a complex divorce case, going through the legal documents and preparing my strategy for the upcoming court hearing and my assistant calls me — “Mike, I’ve got Joe on the line” (not his real name) – “and he’s got an interesting question for you.”
I think to myself. I love interesting questions.
As lawyers, we love to thing about things. We loved complex stuff. We thrive on knowing every detail and when do don’t know something, we can to know it, so we go and figure it out.
So, I pick up the phone and I talk to Joe.
“This is Mike Anderson, how can I help you?” is my line.
His question was good. It didn’t stump me, but it was a good one. Good enough that I knew I need to put information up here for you.
“Do I have to pay child support if my rights have been terminated?”
The answer is “no” – you don’t.
This is an easy one. This is clear in the law. In Utah and throughout the country, if you’re parental rights have been terminated by a court of law; then you do not have any obligation to pay child support.
But, (and here comes the sticky part…)
Joe says to me, “but I don’t have any proof”
You see, Joe was on drugs for a bit and ran into some hard times. Joe didn’t have any of the paperwork that you would normally keep.
This meant that Joe couldn’t prove that his rights were terminated and he couldn’t stop the Office of Recovery Services “ORS” from garnishing his wages (you know, taking money out of his paycheck).
So, there are 2 options in this scenario:
First, you could hire our firm and we search and locate the termination order for you or Second, you do it yourself.
Joe’s a smart guy.
Joe hired us.
We found the termination order.
We got him a copy.
We provided a copy to the ORS.
Garnishment stopped.
Joe’s happy now.
Joe’s moving forward with life and getting back on his feet.
If you have questions about divorce, child support, adoption, termination of rights, guardianships, or other legal matters – give us a call.
We’re here to help you.
8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C
West Jordan, Utah
84088 United States
Telephone: (801) 676-5507
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source http://lawyerdivorceutah.com/2017/03/29/do-i-have-to-pay-child-support-if-my-rights-have-been-terminated/
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