For Government Employees who Pay Child Support. (Might not get paid come Monday)....

Kevin Palmer · Apr 8, 2011

If you will NOT be furloughed and MUST work, you will work and be paid later.

And,,, for those furloughed, you simply won't get paid for the time off (as I understand it).

I called my county children services to get a better understanding of my obligations during the time I may not be paid..

Here is a cut and paste of what I found out.

For those of you that have child support obligations

I called Children Services to inquire how to handle the potential of the government shutting down, (financially speaking).

Keep in mind the information below pertains to Lake County Ohio.

My advisor STRONGLY suggests you call in advance so they can make notes to your personal account as after the fact they may not be in a position to help (due to not being there and or crossing dates based on when your payment SHOULD have come through and what not).

Call your location and provide them with the information that the government may shutdown.

Confirm that you will have a financial obligation to the payments even if you are not receiving a paycheck. (Mine told me some states will not hold you responsible for approximately 2 months if they do not receive funds via your employer). This is NOT the case with Ohio, you DO have the obligation with or without a pay check.

Inform them that you will receive your paychecks but they will be delayed.

In the state of Ohio, once you exceed (in arrears) $1549.49 a notice will be sent to collections and your drivers licenses is at risk of suspension.

At $2500.00 in arrears, your drivers license WILL be suspended and they attach the issue to your Passport. Meaning, if your passport is swiped they will see a notice to hold you. Customs will hold you until the police take custody of you.

If you over pay in the state of Ohio the extra funds will go to surplus account. You cannot get the funds back without a court order.

It is STRONGLY recommended that you do not pay your ex-spouse directly as the state of Ohio will not recognize this payment from a legal standpoint. It will be considered a Donation.

In my case, my advisor will put a hold on my account if the government shuts down. I will make personal payments to them and they will forward the payments to my ex-spouse. Once my delayed checks come through, they will send me the over-payment amount as my account will be paid in full and paid up to date.

Richard L · Apr 8, 2011

Coastiejoe,

I will make personal payments to them and they will forward the payments to my ex-spouse. Once my delayed checks come through, they will send me the over-payment amount as my account will be paid in full and paid up to date.

Who do you make your payments to if their office is closed??? You could pay directly to your ex-wife, however any money paid that is not paid through the Child Support system is just considered a gift and does not count towards your monthly child support payments.

I hope they have something in place to accept your personal payments towards your childrens support and that they have a way of getting that money to the children in a timely fashion.

You know that the government buracracy is notorius for getting everything fowled up, especiall when something changes and they don't have any real policy to cover that contingency.

...Rich

Kevin Palmer · Apr 8, 2011

The office will be open as they are considered state, not Federal,,,

I asked that specific question as I wondered the same thing.

There are a few Federal Child Services offices. They are ties to the TSA due to its size. So most will be able to contact their local office from what I understand...

My ex and I are "friendly" enough that we will not have an issue, that said, I still prefer to go through Child Services as you just never know. She is an ex for a reason,,, LOL

Richard L · Apr 8, 2011

It sounds like you got everything under control, but I hope they get this budget issue resolved before they have to shut-down the government.

It appears that the stumbling block is the funding for abortions. I think they should just pull the abortion funding aside and let the rest get passed and argue the abortion issue separately. Why do they want to bring the nation to it's knees over the funding of one issue...just to prove a point??? Makes no sense to me.

I don't want to see the military denied their pay, or get into financial problems because their pay is delayed. Otherwise, I don't really care if the govenment shuts down...each day it's shut down has got to be saving the tax payers many millions of $$$.

...Rich

Jacob Dryer · Apr 8, 2011

Navy Federal and First Command Banks are both planning to compensate military families with their normal pay until this is resolved, if they have direct deposit. I'm not sure if that counts for contractors or other government employees, but I think it speaks volumes for the leadership of those banks.