In an unusual story in East Texas, a man who thought that his child support checks were going to his children recently found out that his employer was intercepting the payments.
According to KPLC-TV, a Smith County father who worked as a mechanic for P&O Motors let the business know that about 50 percent of his wages were supposed to be withheld for child support payments. The man has six children who were not in his custody and admitted to the employer when he started working there that he owed back payments.
However, after seven years of working at the shop, he began to receive calls from mothers who said they were not getting money. “Every once in a while I would get a phone call from a distraught mother wanting to know where the money is,” the man told KPLC. “I’m seeing it on my paycheck stubs that child support is being taken out. I don’t never think negative or ill thoughts about it.”
The man though that it may have been a mistake on the part of the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG), so he ignored the issue. Finally, after discovering that his employer was having financial problems, he began to investigate where his child support payments were going, noticing $28,000 in discrepancies between what payroll said was withheld and what he was said to have made in payments.
Despite contacting the OAG and filing a complaint with police, no legal actions were taken against his employer. Eventually, the man quit working for the shop. It is now up to one of the parents to file a civil lawsuit against the business to seek the misappropriated child support.
As KPLC reported, if you are having issues obtaining child support or think that your employer is intercepting payments, make sure that you collect evidence and contact the OAG. Even though the OAG did not take action in this case, it may be able assist you.
KPLC reported that in 2014, $3.8 billion in child support was collected from Texas parents. Of this amount, 78 percent was garnished through paychecks. Make sure you obtain every cent you are owed for child support.
Speak to Our Lewisville Family Law Attorneys about Child Support Issues
In addition to speaking to the OAG about child support, you can contact our Lewisville family lawyers. We can launch an independent investigation into your case and determine if there are issues with wages being that are being withheld, or if another parent is failing in his or her duties to make payments.
Our attorneys can review your situation and approximate how much you may be paying or how much you may expect to receive in child support payments.
