Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law Coaching Tips from the Founder of Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law Coaching Attorney, Christopher A. Pearsall!: Divorce & Controversial Archives

RI Child Support Question for The Rhode Island Divorce Coaching Lawyer!

By Rhode Island Divorce Coach on June 4, 2011 6:20 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Question: I just got served child support paperwork for a child I haven't seen in 10 years. I paid about $50/week between 2001 and 2002 and then she just up and moved without letting me know. I had no idea where she went and she left no forwarding address. Can she legally ask me for back child support when she left town? I will pay child support going forward (a paternity test will be established first), but I don't think I should pay 10 years worth from the past when she took him away from me.

Reply: If you had an existing child support order through the Rhode Island Family Court you had an obligation to keep paying it. There is virtually always a way to find the mother and the child if you do some investigation. In the very least you should have paid it to the Rhode Island Family Court Child Support Enforcement Department so you would not be in contempt of the court's order to pay continuing support for your child.

If there was, in fact, a child support Order from the Rhode Island Family Court in effect then your child support debt would accumulate interest at a rate of 12%. If you did not have a child support Order issued by the Rhode Island Family Court then the mother of the child is only legally entitled to ask for the court to award her child support retroactive to the date she filed the Motion to Adjudge You In Contempt or to otherwise require you to pay your Rhode Island Child Support Order from the date her Motion for Payment of Child Support was filed. The retroactive part of the court's award, with or without the 12% interest per annum is in the discretion of the judge. Ultimately the obligation to insure you pay court ordered child support is on you and not the mother of the child.

It does not matter if the mother took off with the child or not. Your Rhode Island visitation rights and your obligation to pay child support for the support of your child are completely separate and distinct. A parent does not pay money for child support in order to have the right to see their child. Also, the money for child support is to support the child, it does not entitle you to see your child. In other words, child support payments and visitation are completely separate.

If there was no Rhode Island Child Support Order that says you have to pay a certain amount of money each week, month, etc . . . then the mother of the child may only ask the judge to award her Rhode Island child support retroactive to the date her motion was filed and that should be specifically requested in her Motion if she is requesting retroactive child support when no Child Support Order was ever established by the Court. If there was an actual Child Support Order in place and you have not paid child support in 10 years then you should get a lawyer. If a judge were to find you in contempt of an existing Child Support Order it is always possible that you could be sentenced to the Adult Correctional Institution for failure to abide by the court's order among other things.

Unfortunately, whether the woman left with your child or not, if there is Rhode Island Child Support in place then it is your job to protect yourself by, in the least, paying the child support that was ordered to the Rhode Island Child Support Enforcement Division of the Rhode Island Family Court.

If you need further assistance and/or advice, I offer legal advice and coaching sessions relating to each person's specific facts and situation for an affordable rate. Whatever you decide to do,

I wish you the very best in this difficult situation no matter what you decide to do.

Authored By:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law

Rhode Island's Full-Time Divorce* Lawyer is Now
Rhode Island's Only Divorce and Family Law Coach!!

Discover the Tremendous Benefits You Receive by

Participating in Family Law Coaching Sessions!

Visit the RhodeIslandDivorceCoach.com

Call (401) 632-6976 Now
to
Schedule Your Low-Cost Rhode Island Divorce* or Family Law* Coaching Session!

Experience the Difference!

Copyright 2000 to Present. Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
Offering Rhode Island Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law Coaching for a New Millenium!

Note: If this article contains a case scenario with names, dates or amounts, any resemblance any connection to any person or situation now or previously existing is purely accidental, unintentional, and is merely a mistaken creation in the mind of the reader.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law. The court does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any particular field of practice.

- - Recommended Websites - -

Top 3 Reasons A Rhode Island Divorce Coach is the Best Lawyer for the Job!

By Rhode Island Divorce Coach on April 30, 2011 8:51 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

If you have a Rhode Island Divorce you probably are like most people. You most likely want your divorce to flow smoothly through the Rhode Island Family Court System without substantial aggravation or expense. If so, there are at least five (5) major reasons why you will want to consider using a Rhode Island Divorce Coach before simply go out an hire a divorce lawyer to represent you in court.

Reason No. 1: Most of the expense incurred in a Rhode Island divorce matter is by the payment of attorney's fees for the attorney to handle virtually everything in your divorce without explanation unless you ask.

It Costs You Less! By engaging a Rhode Island Divorce Coach you pay a fraction of the cost you would pay to an attorney. Ultimately you save money for as long as you choose to use a Divorce Coach for the process.

Reason No. 2: When you hire a Rhode Island Divorce lawyer to do everything for you right from the start, you trust the lawyer to do everything for you. In many cases, the divorce lawyer will do what he or she sees is fit or necessary in your divorce matter without explanation, unless you specifically ask.

You Have More Control! By engaging a Rhode Island Divorce Coach you retain control of your own matter and you remain informed about your case and how it proceeds because you are educated on each step of the process and how it works and you make the decisions on what is to be done based upon the options you learn about.

Reason No. 3: A Rhode Island Divorce lawyer hired for your case usually gets certain information from you as he and/or she represents you to move forward as the lawyer deems to be in your best interests. In many instances a divorce lawyer will not educate you about what is being done and why it is being done. Unfortunately, you still pay for what you do not understand. This is all done with the belief that the work is in your best interests and that you need to trust the lawyer because you hired him or her for the expertise possessed in this area of law.

You Obtain More Information! By engaging a Rhode Island Divorce Coach you are informed about the process, the options/alternatives available to you, and the pros and cons. In this way, you have the crucial information that you need in order to make important decisions regarding what should or should not be done in your divorce and as a result you retain the control over the divorce.

Authored By:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law

Rhode Island's Full-Time Divorce* Lawyer is Now
Rhode Island's Only Divorce and Family Law Coach!!

Discover the Tremendous Benefits You Receive by

Participating in Family Law Coaching Sessions!

Visit the RhodeIslandDivorceCoach.com

Call (401) 632-6976 Now
to
Schedule Your Low-Cost Rhode Island Divorce* or Family Law* Coaching Session!

Experience the Difference!

Copyright 2000 to Present. Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
Offering Rhode Island Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law Coaching for a New Millenium!

Note: If this article contains a case scenario with names, dates or amounts, any resemblance any connection to any person or situation now or previously existing is purely accidental, unintentional, and is merely a mistaken creation in the mind of the reader.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law. The court does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any particular field of practice.

- - Recommended Websites - -

Rhode Island Divorce Coach Pro Se Quick Tip - The Narrated Nominal

By Rhode Island Divorce Coach on March 30, 2011 8:26 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Can't afford a Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer for your uncontested Rhode Island Divorce proceeding?

Here's a quick tip to help you.

On your Divorce Summons you are assigned a Nominal Date by the Rhode Island Family Court Clerk when you file your divorce papers. Generally speaking you can think of this as your "Friendly hearing date."

If you have everything worked out with your spouse before that date, but have to represent yourself, then it's a good idea to look at the sample questions the court gives you with your divorce packet so you'll know the kinds of questions the court may want answers to depending upon your particular circumstances.

However, the Rhode Island Family Court judge certainly doesn't expect you to ask yourself a question, then jump back on the witness stand and answer it, then jump back down and ask yourself another question and then jump back up on the witness stand and answer your own question. Clearly that would be absurd.

It's a good idea to prepare a narrative for the judge making a very brief statement that recites the answers to the courts questions by including them in your statement.

When you are prepared with this kind of statement, your Rhode Island judge knows exactly the information you are giving him or her. The more directly you can provide the needed information to the judge so you do not waste the court's time but still get the job done, the better you've done as your own lawyer.

Therefore, if the court needs to know the answer to whether it has control of the case because you or your spouse have been a resident for at least one year then don't use a question and answer form.

In your uncontested divorce hearing on the Nominal date you might start by saying.

I have been a continuous resident and domiciled inhabitant living in Rhode Island for at least one year before I filed my complaint for divorce in this case.

If your Rhode Island divorce is based upon your residency in Rhode Island then you have just told the Court that residency is based upon you and not your spouse and that you have met the one year Rhode Island residency requirement. Best of all you've done it all in one brief sentence.

When you represent yourself in your own divorce you are acting as your own divorce lawyer. Be professional, be as brief as you can, yet give the judge the information that is needed.

If you want to save the cost of hiring a Rhode Island divorce lawyer then you are going to need to make up that expertise by your own preparation.

Remember folks, you are going into a Rhode Island Family Court of law. You are not ordering a jelly donut at Dunkin Donuts. But you can do it if you can't afford a Rhode Island divorce lawyer.

My best to you!

Authored By:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Attorney-at-Law

Rhode Island's Full-Time Divorce* Lawyer is Now
Rhode Island's Only Divorce and Family Law Coach!!

Discover the Tremendous Benefits You Receive by

Participating in Family Law Coaching Sessions!

Visit the RhodeIslandDivorceCoach.com

Call (401) 632-6976 Now
to
Schedule Your Low-Cost Rhode Island Divorce* or Family Law* Coaching Session!

Experience the Difference!

Copyright 2000 to Present. Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
Offering Rhode Island Rhode Island Divorce and Family Law Coaching for a New Millenium!

Note: If this article contains a case scenario with names, dates or amounts, any resemblance any connection to any person or situation now or previously existing is purely accidental, unintentional, and is merely a mistaken creation in the mind of the reader.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law. The court does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any particular field of practice.

- - Recommended Websites - -

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RI Child Support Question for The Rhode Island Divorce Coaching Lawyer!

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