How Can a Private Attorney Help My Case?
We’ve discussed the actions you can take to collect past-due child support. In our third part of the series we will look at how private attorneys can help collect money from a delinquent parent.
CSE vs. Private Attorney
One of the biggest up-sides to having an attorney work on your past-due child support case is that they will be much more motivated to collect money than your local Child Support Enforcement agency (CSE). State agencies will have a long list of cases that are in progress; this means case workers will have a limited amount of resources to use on each case. Private attorneys will have far fewer cases and can give your case the personal attention it deserves. Private attorneys are also able to work for “contingency fees,” meaning you can pay the attorney when you collect payment.
CSE Limitations
There are a few limitations when it comes to CSE collecting past-due child support. CSE will only go after the principle amount of the support order unless there is a judgment from the court; this means interest or other payments (e.g. ½ of extracurricular expenses) won’t always be addressed. The state may also have limited resources for finding a missing parent- this can be a major set-back when trying to collect child support. Interest, in Colorado, on past due amounts, is compounded monthly at 12%. This can turn into a large number quickly, with some cases having tens of thousands of dollars in interest and penalties alone!
An experienced divorce lawyer will be an asset for your case- they will know how to get a judgment so CSE and the attorney can work together to track down your money. Our attorneys are also experts at finding missing people- our team utilizes state-of-the-art resources to track down almost anyone with a connection to the outside world.
The bottom line is that hiring a private attorney to help your past-due child support case can be very helpful. The attorneys at Divorce Matters know how to leverage resources in ways that will maximize the return for our clients. If you have a past-due child support case, we can help. Call us at (720) 542-6142.