PARENT'S RIGHTS NOW!

Following are the 3 responses to “Is the application of civil contempt in South Carolina’s 'daddy round-ups' improper?”

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John Taylor says on July 20, 2009 at 9:38 pm:

I really found this blog interesting. My personal case serves as a prime example of what’s wrong with the S.C civil law and what Mr. Forman has stated. I cannot pay my ex wife the amount that I owe her because I suffer from M.S and now work from home for a lot less than I use to make in the corporate world. I have already been locked up once for seven days until my in-laws paid $19,000 in back payments. (I owe nearly $1800 a month which is another story in itself.) For the last two years I have been through two lawyers trying to get my Ex to agree to a new payment or a lump sum settlement that my Dad was graciously willing to pay. The problem is that my ex wife will not respond to the courts at all. My lawyer has told me that there is nothing he can do since there is no rule which compels her to answer, As a result, I have been labled a dead beat Dad and have another warrant out for my arrest. What really stinks is that I have now exhausted all of my money and can’t continue to pay a lawyer or pay for all the medical bills that are accumulating. As a result I am currently doing research to see if I can file any civil action myself. I know it’s a long shot but I have nothing left to try and as it stands now I can’t visit my kids in S.C without being thrown back in jail despite my attempts to make things right. I could write a book on my experiences with the Greenville S.C family court but I’ll spare you the details. Just know that I appreciated this article and for anyone out there just getting started with a S.C divorce make sure you hire the best lawyer available even if breaks you. One wrong move and you will be taken to the cleaners and hung out to dry!

WR Waller says on July 26, 2009 at 4:43 pm:

I too suffered six months incarceration in Florence County as the result of these draconian laws. I had been out of work for several months, and in rehab for drug addiction when I was hauled in on a bench warrant. How that affected my recovery is another story all its own! That I could not pay any monies, nor provide for my release in any other manner put me out of touch with the “keys in my pocket” to secure my freedom. I was actually sentenced to a FULL year (to be six months if I got my “good time”). What I want to know is HOW these law serve to protect the children involved? Clearly, if in jail, I could not earn any money, so how was my daughter being helped by my incarceration? If this is to be a criminal penalty, then so-be-it, I could understand that as punishment for ME. What is the intent of the law under civil contempt when punishment is not a prescribed solution of the law? I can only conclude that counties in SC (and the state by aegis) have resorted to “debtor prisons” in order to provide much-needed public works “volunteers” (as well as ancillary trustees to perform tasks in jails where true criminals are housed) soley because the governments lack funds to pay for these services. Cleaning up trash along roadways HAS to be done by someone. Why pay a country employee $15 an hour when a “jail bird” can do it for free? I got to wash laundry, and was exposed to MRSA (staff) as a result. And why, because I owed $700 dollars in child support? Six months for $700. I was not the recipient of any “magic fountain” proceeds. Now, both my ex and I live in other states, but I pay my child support ($84/week )even though I currently receive only $240 a week in worker’s comp. I have no driver’s license, and cannot secure other employment. I know one thing for sure: I’ll never set foot in SC again unless I am chained and bound!

Mrs. Spires says on January 30, 2010 at 1:21 pm:

I am totally at a loss for words. My husband was apprehended last Saturday for “failure” to pay child support after being laid off from his plumbing job. I am the sole provider of our family income. We have a son together and I am having a very difficult time making juggling our available funds. With the current recession and an unemployment rate of over 10% in Georgia alone, it has been a challenge for him to obtain gainful employment. He is currently sitting in the Cobb County Jail, in Georgia, waiting extredition to S.C. to face a judge and possible prison time. It is a wonder to me, how the judicial system in S.C., determines imprisonment for a debt owed (other than fraud), can be collected by someone who does not have the collateral or income to satisfy the debt. Not only are they not able to collect on the “arrearage”, but they are also securing hardship to me and my son!I do not know where I am going to secure the funds necessary to ensure the release of my husband. If this blog is accurate, I am concerned that he may be incarcerated for a year! What then???? Please help!