Divorce Modifications

[Christeena]

I have an 8 year old son with my ex husband...Our divorce was finalized in 2006 and we both gained joint custody, he agreed to pay my car payments in lieu of child support well a few months later the car was totaled and paid off by the insurance; he hasn’t ever made any type of financial contributions towards our sons well being since then, he also has had ZERO contact with our son since 2004..In 2009 I filed for child support with the Florida Child Support Enforcement Agency, well to this day nothing has been resolved and no payments have been ordered and now they are saying that since the divorce says we have joint custody that zero payments are due and that I have to allow the state of Texas (his residency state) to file the modification paperwork and determine the payments...I don’t understand why the state of Texas is determining the payments when the child lives in the state of Florida and I don’t understand why this has taken almost a year and a half and is still in nowhere near resolved...Child support is pretty much are telling me that I am out of luck as far as child support goes and it seems as though he is just going to get away with not supporting his child for the next 10 years...He is in the Army/ Active Duty and they are doing all they can to keep him from having to pay..I am not sure what to do...I want to modify the divorce, custody and child support but I am not sure what state I have to go through, Arizona where it was originated at, or Florida where it has been moved to (according to cse)..All I want is what is best for my son and he deserves to be taken care of by both parents...Can I just file abandonment papers and have him eliminated from my boys life for good? He does nothing now so I feel she shouldn’t even have the option to joint custody..Please help me; I am not sure what to do...

[Attorney Howard Iken]

If the last order was issued by Texas, and the father still resides there, that is the correct state to seek a modification.

Sorry, but this forum cannot cover Texas law.