An interesting court date recently.
I clearly articulated my points as the entire court room staff looked down their noses at me. Questioning their authority? How dare I! Well, too damn bad. I question authority that is not legal, and its never a dull moment when you are the underdog - the non-attorney. There's nothing attorney's despise more than educated non-attorney's who know what they're talking about, and who know how to articulate an injustice in a way that cannot be misconstrued. Yea, they may ignore me, or look down their noses at me harder, but I spoke my peace and let them know that I know what they are doing... and that it is wrong!
What I find troubling is the fact that these attorney who represent the state have a certain bias. They are overworked, and they will never admit that an opposing party is right. This flies right in the face of their ethical obligations; not to mention the oath they took to uphold all the laws and constitutions for Wisconsin and the United States.
They sure know how to make things rough on a person who is paying their child support, who has been paying their child support, and who will always pay their child support! Attorney's!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Into the Lions Den
Today was the day... I had to make my stand, go to the source and try and ascertain the truth to the fact that I am making, and have been making child support payments. I had to face the lions today!
When you have the integrity to face a wrong situation it can be a very stressful event. Even if it Isn't pleasant it was something that had to be done. "I" had to take a stand and remedy this wrong, if not for the sole purpose of helping myself, but to help others who cannot help themselves. I would imagine that my situation is not unique and that there are hundreds of other candidates who face the same problems I do; candidates that the Waukesha County Child Support agency are taking advantage of. Just like Daniel -- the character in the Bible -- I have to stand for what is moral, right and just, even if I have to suffer some consequences. In my experience, any time that a person faces or otherwise challenges the practices of a government entity there is always the possibility of suffering some harm or retaliation of some form -- just like Daniel... So I approached the Child Support Agency with courage and hope -- hope that recognition would materialize, but the overall results of today's quest were very disheartening.
The problem is bureaucracy. Too many bosses and not enough workers! Whether its because the child support workers' cases loads are too large and they simply can't keep up, or they simply do not care! I believe that its a combination of both actually. Its sad, really, when you attempt to make contact with government workers and you just can't seem to get a face-to-face with them - especially on little or no notice. They're always out of the office or on vacation. And you suddenly realize that they just don't want to talk to you when you ask to speak with their immediate supervisor and magically they are not in the office either. Such was the case when I attempted to get answers to very serious questions today. What it all boiled down to is that "I" had to ultimately swallow my pride, accept the nightmare of a bureaucracy that is in place, and take matters to the next level - hoping there may be some recourse available in that forum? Unfortunately time was on their side, and they knew it too.
When you have the integrity to face a wrong situation it can be a very stressful event. Even if it Isn't pleasant it was something that had to be done. "I" had to take a stand and remedy this wrong, if not for the sole purpose of helping myself, but to help others who cannot help themselves. I would imagine that my situation is not unique and that there are hundreds of other candidates who face the same problems I do; candidates that the Waukesha County Child Support agency are taking advantage of. Just like Daniel -- the character in the Bible -- I have to stand for what is moral, right and just, even if I have to suffer some consequences. In my experience, any time that a person faces or otherwise challenges the practices of a government entity there is always the possibility of suffering some harm or retaliation of some form -- just like Daniel... So I approached the Child Support Agency with courage and hope -- hope that recognition would materialize, but the overall results of today's quest were very disheartening.
The problem is bureaucracy. Too many bosses and not enough workers! Whether its because the child support workers' cases loads are too large and they simply can't keep up, or they simply do not care! I believe that its a combination of both actually. Its sad, really, when you attempt to make contact with government workers and you just can't seem to get a face-to-face with them - especially on little or no notice. They're always out of the office or on vacation. And you suddenly realize that they just don't want to talk to you when you ask to speak with their immediate supervisor and magically they are not in the office either. Such was the case when I attempted to get answers to very serious questions today. What it all boiled down to is that "I" had to ultimately swallow my pride, accept the nightmare of a bureaucracy that is in place, and take matters to the next level - hoping there may be some recourse available in that forum? Unfortunately time was on their side, and they knew it too.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Notice Of Adminstrative Levy Against Bank Account
There's nothing worse than getting "bad news" mail on a Friday, and it certainly seems that government agencies strategically plan it so the recipients of the bad news get the "NOTICE of whatever" at a time where there is nothing a person can do; such as a Friday or Saturday. So fay the Waukesha County Child Support agency is no exception to this practice.
On Friday afternoon I received not one, but two articles of mail from them. The first one was a form letter alleging that I have failed to make payments on my child support arrears as ordered by the court. The thing that perplexes me the most about this allegation is that child support payments are automatically deducted from my job earnings.
The second one was an Interested Party Notice of Administrative Levy. Essentially, the Waukesha County Child Support agency sent my bank some form of legal authority under which they were able to place a hold on, or "freeze" an amount of the monies that are in my checking account to cover the amount that I allegedly have not paid. Needless to say we all know what can happen when something of this nature happens unexpectedly and we are unable to access all of our money to pay bills, buy groceries, etc.
Let me rewind...
Court Ordered Child Support Payments
This wasn't the first time that I received the notice alleging that I was neglecting to make payments on my court ordered child support obligations. The interesting part of this whole mess is that my employer loyally deducts these obligations from my earnings every week and remits them to the proper authority where it is then dispensed to the recipient of the child support. Essentially I have NO control over whether or not I am going to pay child support. It comes out automatically, and quite frankly it makes it easier on everyone that it is accomplished this way. So when I receive such a notice, and I am in fact working and see that the deductions are made from my earnings when I review my check-stub, I get very concerned! How can something so simple get screwed up? I have some ideas, but discussing or guessing what is happening is not important in the context of this discussion. The problem lies some where between the Waukesha County Child Support agency -- namely the case worker assigned to my case -- and the entity responsible for receiving and dispensing the payments to the proper parties.
Child Support Case Worker Incompetency
I am going to direct the title of this paragraph towards all to whom it applies. Not all child support case workers are incompetent. Some, if not most of them work diligently and with great respect for the power that is at their finger tips -- a power that can quickly turn someone's financial accounts in complete disarray, or result in the loss of one's liberty. In my opinion this power should be greatly protected and delegated to only those who prove that they can handle it with great care. In my case there is a clear-cut case of incompetency on the part of my child support case worker. This is not just an opinion, but based upon fact.
When I called the number contained in the notice of alleged failure to pay my court ordered child support, I spoke with an individual who realized within minutes that I did, and have been making regular payments towards my court ordered child support obligation. Obviously my child support case worker did not take the time to check these readily available records? Even I was able to access them online via: Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. But rather than check to see if regular payments are being made, this case worker thought it was best to mail me an intimidating letter alleging that I am not making payments, and even take it to the next level and place a levy against my bank account! All this despite the fact that payments are being made. So as it currently stands, my bank has a hold on half of the balance of my account from the Waukesha County Child Support levy, and it looks as though it may be there for some time? Needless to say these actions require my prompt attention, and I will take whatever legal action is necessary to bring this mistake to the attention of someone who can vacate the erroneous levy against my bank account.
On Friday afternoon I received not one, but two articles of mail from them. The first one was a form letter alleging that I have failed to make payments on my child support arrears as ordered by the court. The thing that perplexes me the most about this allegation is that child support payments are automatically deducted from my job earnings.
The second one was an Interested Party Notice of Administrative Levy. Essentially, the Waukesha County Child Support agency sent my bank some form of legal authority under which they were able to place a hold on, or "freeze" an amount of the monies that are in my checking account to cover the amount that I allegedly have not paid. Needless to say we all know what can happen when something of this nature happens unexpectedly and we are unable to access all of our money to pay bills, buy groceries, etc.
Let me rewind...
Court Ordered Child Support Payments
This wasn't the first time that I received the notice alleging that I was neglecting to make payments on my court ordered child support obligations. The interesting part of this whole mess is that my employer loyally deducts these obligations from my earnings every week and remits them to the proper authority where it is then dispensed to the recipient of the child support. Essentially I have NO control over whether or not I am going to pay child support. It comes out automatically, and quite frankly it makes it easier on everyone that it is accomplished this way. So when I receive such a notice, and I am in fact working and see that the deductions are made from my earnings when I review my check-stub, I get very concerned! How can something so simple get screwed up? I have some ideas, but discussing or guessing what is happening is not important in the context of this discussion. The problem lies some where between the Waukesha County Child Support agency -- namely the case worker assigned to my case -- and the entity responsible for receiving and dispensing the payments to the proper parties.
Child Support Case Worker Incompetency
I am going to direct the title of this paragraph towards all to whom it applies. Not all child support case workers are incompetent. Some, if not most of them work diligently and with great respect for the power that is at their finger tips -- a power that can quickly turn someone's financial accounts in complete disarray, or result in the loss of one's liberty. In my opinion this power should be greatly protected and delegated to only those who prove that they can handle it with great care. In my case there is a clear-cut case of incompetency on the part of my child support case worker. This is not just an opinion, but based upon fact.
When I called the number contained in the notice of alleged failure to pay my court ordered child support, I spoke with an individual who realized within minutes that I did, and have been making regular payments towards my court ordered child support obligation. Obviously my child support case worker did not take the time to check these readily available records? Even I was able to access them online via: Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. But rather than check to see if regular payments are being made, this case worker thought it was best to mail me an intimidating letter alleging that I am not making payments, and even take it to the next level and place a levy against my bank account! All this despite the fact that payments are being made. So as it currently stands, my bank has a hold on half of the balance of my account from the Waukesha County Child Support levy, and it looks as though it may be there for some time? Needless to say these actions require my prompt attention, and I will take whatever legal action is necessary to bring this mistake to the attention of someone who can vacate the erroneous levy against my bank account.
Are You Paying Child Support?
If you are currently making child support payments and one day you check your mail, only to find that the Waukesha County Child Support agency claims that you have failed to make payments, DO NOT PANIC! This is especially true if you are paying child support on more than one case.
This site is a resource that will help you to remedy the child support agency's erroneous allegation that you are not making payments.
This site is a resource that will help you to remedy the child support agency's erroneous allegation that you are not making payments.
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