Of course many (most) mom’s and dad’s behind on payments aren’t deadbeats. But this dad? He has tried getting jobs and didn’t like it. He is such a non-factor in his daughter’s life that he’s never met a man who lives with her and acts as her father. He is being given an out but doesn’t want to take it because he…

I don't think people understand about the drivers license. The court is only looking for a payment, usually less than $300. You have to actually attend the court date and mediate. People are freaking out like he needs to come up with the full $120,000. As a single parent I am always glad when my ex has his license…

That was my assumption to, and why I went ahead with posting my reply. My daughter’s biological father has tattoos with her picture/name. He tells everyone he meets about his amazing, perfect daughter. He never, ever mentions the fact that he goes years without seeing or even calling her. People who know him have no…

I definitely can’t have kids right at this moment because I’m trying to follow my dreams and (a bit selfishly) not ready to be financially stable for a child currently.

Since he always refers to her as his fantastic daughter, I’m going to say he has limited interaction with her in real life. Using superlatives and flowery language is supposed to make up for the distance.

A friend of mine who worked in support enforcement says part of the problem is how many non-custodial parents don’t see it as child support, but money they’re being forced to pay that bitch.

I am a writer and artist. I have also worked as a freelance journalist. And I don’t have kids because I can’t afford them. I don’t have either the time or the money. I just see the writer of this piece as being someone who was able to toss the load — both financial and emotional — of raising his children onto other…

I’ve seen the exact same thing as you. The most telling part of this article is how he says he might as well go shine shoes instead of work for UPS where is wages are garnished. Because even though the UPS job is providing money to his kids, it’s not providing enough money -to him- so he might as well shine shoes…

I’m glad for your and your daughter’s sake that the judge did that. As people kept reminding me when I was thinking of taking less than the state minimum, the money’s not for you, it’s for the kid(s). Good luck! I made sure to include health insurance in my own financial calculations since I knew my ex would not…

Suspending his license is painfully counter-productive, I agree. Can’t muster up too much outrage for the rest of it.

OK, the system sucks and taking away your driver’s license is destructive to your earning potential and unhelpful. But, like - if your kids lived with you full time, you’d have to find a way to make it work. As the mothers of those kids already do. Stop thinking of child support as something you will pay when you can,…

You’re a professional writer and you think the phrase is, “on the lamb?”

My ex owes 30k, and he’s supposed to provide health insurance and pay 50% of her medical expenses. He’s never done those last two.

I’m curious about your actual relationship with your daughter... I don’t see it mentioned, so unless I missed something, I’d like to know if you speak to her, see her, or do anything to maintain a relationship with her.

I have a child, now 18, and did not get any kind of financial support from her father. We were very…

I appreciate hearing a different perspective on a child-support case. I admit it was hard to dig up any sympathy for this particular situation, though—this is a non-custodial parent who lives in a place that he describes as not great for his barely-paid profession. If I read correctly, he also doesn’t live near in…

Yes. Now get off the internet until your homework is done.

Seriously! This guy sounds like a total asshole. Get a fucking real job that pays, man! You don’t even have to give up your writing to do so. Or even if you do, it sounds like you’re not giving up much. Support your fucking kids.

That is an interesting stat on the no quarterly earnings or less than 10k a year thing. I wonder about who might be included in there though. I used to work in payroll and I had employees who would be with us a couple of months, then family services would find them and they’d just disappear. I don’t know how much they…

Me, as a child-support paying divorced mom with 50/50 physical custody, who still buys school uniforms and new shoes and haircuts for my kids because my ex-husband won’t.

Get a real fucking job. Better yet, get two! You have the time because your kids don’t live with you!. You are a grown ass man, and the fact that you call yourself a writer does not excuse you from being responsible for the lives you created.