Denied Boarding

[jcjen519]

I'm a domestic relations attorney in Georgia and handle things like child support. I am not aware of any law that limits where a person can travel due to owed child support or alimony. (now someone like me may bring up the fact that he is traveling, regardless of who pays the bill, in hearing related to the back child support) He can be denied a drivers license but should be able to get some form of ID. Assuming we're not talking about outstanding warrants I don't see a problem. However, I have never had this issue come up nor have I researched it.

 

[jmarsh]

I'm a domestic relations attorney in Georgia and handle things like child support. I am not aware of any law that limits where a person can travel due to owed child support or alimony. (now someone like me may bring up the fact that he is traveling, regardless of who pays the bill, in hearing related to the back child support) He can be denied a drivers license but should be able to get some form of ID. Assuming we're not talking about outstanding warrants I don't see a problem. However, I have never had this issue come up nor have I researched it.

Here is the link to the federal law about child support and passports. I was wrong and it is $2,500 in arrears....

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/family/family_863.html

 

[ilovetexas]

Thank you! That is the answer I was hoping for! I realize I should ask an attorney but at least I know it is in the realm of possibility. DCFS took her away from her mom and gave him custody and he's been trying really hard to give her a good home! Thanks!

1- A cruise would be nice for them, it sounds like they've been through a lot.
2- Hopefully he's going to get a judge to vacate the child support order QUICKLY if he now has custody of the child. I would imagine it wouldn't be too hard under these circumstances. Then again, family court can be ridiculous.
3- He will probably want to travel with some official paperwork showing that DFCS removed the child from her mother. That way, if anyone asks if he has permission from the other parent to remove the child from the country (it can be required, although usually isn't), he can show that it wouldn't be necessary/possible to get.

Best of luck and he should really consult with his lawyer about these issues. It would be worth the hour or so of lawyer fees not to run into any trouble on the cruise.

 

[jcjen519]

Here is the link to the federal law about child support and passports. I was wrong and it is $2,500 in arrears....

http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppi/family/family_863.html

I guess I wasn't very clear. You can certainly be denied passports, have various licenses taken but what I meant was they won't stop you from cruising if you have your birth certificate and a government issued ID. They should be able to get some form of ID card without having a drivers license or passport.

 

[JimGA]

Maybe you would consider gifting your friend's child support instead and he or she could repay you in the future when things are more stable?

Great advice!

 

[livie1205]

I dont know this guys story and its his buisness but if MY ex went on a cruise while being 20,000 behind ( yeh and still has his DL) I would be TICKED to say the least.I have a dss also and my dh has NEVER missed a cs payment and I would have no respect for him if he did not pay his cs.I know how it feels to be on the other side of that.

 

[eyesing4u]

I dont know this guys story and its his buisness but if MY ex went on a cruise while being 20,000 behind ( yeh and still has his DL) I would be TICKED to say the least.I have a dss also and my dh has NEVER missed a cs payment and I would have no respect for him if he did not pay his cs.I know how it feels to be on the other side of that.

Really? And do you know what it is like to be out of work for over a year and raise your daughter and still have back child support hanging over your head? This response has nothing to do with the question I asked! I would appreciate it if one of the mods would close this thread .

 

[PizzieDuster]

Really? And do you know what it is like to be out of work for over a year and raise your daughter and still have back child support hanging over your head? This response has nothing to do with the question I asked! I would appreciate it if one of the mods would close this thread .

Before they do, have a great cruise eyesing!

 

[ktb2002]

These boards can be great, but then there are several people who feel the need to be judgemental! Have a great cruise! I hope the valid advice helped you, and as I posted before I'm glad you asked this question!

 

[eyesing4u]

Thank you to everyone who has been so informative! And we will definitely enjoy our cruise! Leaving tomorrow!

 

[luv that cruise]

I think the OP question was a valid question. I think it's considerate that someone is considering a gift but also concerned about the gift causing a problem for that person. I think they said it was a gift for a parent & child? It would be so sad to look forward to a vacation only to have it ruined at the very last minute.

It's amazing how many agencies, marketing companies, etc. collect info on all of us and then share the info. Tonight I made an internet purchase thru an online electronics site. After I sent the order a pop up asked me, for security reasons, the year I was born. Then a second large pop up asked me 3 multiple choice questions. The first was about which hospital was nearest to my home. I panic a little because we are about half way between two but alas the choices didn't include both hospitals. The second question asked me the color of my car (they specified make and model) - a car that i bought only a few months ago. The third question asked me the location of a street. The street name was familiar to me and it was a name that could very well be in many large cities. But I couldn't place it. I had to look at all the choices twice and then it hit me. It was the street where I worked over 20 years ago. Wow. I'm glad for the security but it scares me that someone, somewhere collects this data and feeds it into computer programs. I'm not real tech savy but I bet there are computer programs themselves that gather this info.

My point is it is getting harder and harder to separate ourselves from our past and actions. I've been following a thread on the news & rumors forum about people who have been banned from disney for life. Facial recognition software is moving forward rapidly and there are cameras everywhere.

 

[bumbershoot]

I dont know this guys story and its his buisness but if MY ex went on a cruise while being 20,000 behind ( yeh and still has his DL) I would be TICKED to say the least.I have a dss also and my dh has NEVER missed a cs payment and I would have no respect for him if he did not pay his cs.I know how it feels to be on the other side of that.

It really would have been lovely to read all the posts and found that the child had been taken from the mom's house, put with the dad, and the dad has custody. It's past child support they are talking about. And the cruise includes the child.


Now speaking as the child in a situation much more like yours, livie, I had my dad pay for my wedding. That's how I got the unpaid child support for me (at 33, LOL). Works for me! Put his current family into stress I didn't know fully about for about 5 years, and while I feel bad for my half-sibs and stepmom, oh well. Stepmom has chosen to stay with him over 30 years, and my sibs are all grown adults now and could leave if they chose to (30, 28, and 18) but do not. I got my wedding and I didn't have to live with that human and become more messed up than I am, so it's a win-win as far as I'm concerned.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's amazing how many agencies, marketing companies, etc. collect info on all of us and then share the info. Tonight I made an internet purchase thru an online electronics site. After I sent the order a pop up asked me, for security reasons, the year I was born. Then a second large pop up asked me 3 multiple choice questions. The first was about which hospital was nearest to my home. I panic a little because we are about half way between two but alas the choices didn't include both hospitals. The second question asked me the color of my car (they specified make and model) - a car that i bought only a few months ago. The third question asked me the location of a street. The street name was familiar to me and it was a name that could very well be in many large cities. But I couldn't place it. I had to look at all the choices twice and then it hit me. It was the street where I worked over 20 years ago. Wow. I'm glad for the security but it scares me that someone, somewhere collects this data and feeds it into computer programs. I'm not real tech savy but I bet there are computer programs themselves that gather this info.

There's no chance in anywhere I would have answered any of those questions. Did you contact the online store to ask them what division of their site is asking those questions? Or IF there's a division of their website asking those questions? Yikes!

 

[luv that cruise]

I called and the security is legit. I have one credit card that I use exclusively for online purchases. If anything goes wrong it is not linked to my bank account and I can cancel it. I didn't feel threatened by the questions. The questions were phrased in such a way that it was obvious they were trying to make sure the person making the purchase was me. There were 8 or 9 choices for each question and all the answers were out in left field except for the right answer. it was an https site and a trusted site from my friend who uses them all the time. We will see in a few days if it was a mistake. hope not.

 

[tlkgt76]

Has anyone ever been refused from boarding due to back child support owed? I know that you can not get a passport, but you can board with a birth certificate and an ID on closed loop cruises. And before anybody gets judgemental this would be a gift for someone. Thanks for any info!

It would probably matter on the current status of the situation. Is this person currently paying child support, but is making up for back payments (say they lost their job and got behind and now are getting back on their feet)? Then they probably wouldn't be denied.

However if this person has a warrant out for their arrest because they are still not paying then technically they could get arrested on the way to the port and never even make it to the ship. I could see this happening with any type of warrant.

Personally, if the second is more the situation you may want to wait until the issues are resolved just to ensure you don't waste your money. I probably also wouldn't want to get the kid's hopes up in case something happened right before the cruise that would keep them from being able to go.

 

[bats]

I didn't realise that you could have your licence and/or passport taken away if you owed child support in the US. Harsh .. but fair!!

In the UK, we had a special agency set up to collect the money, it failed big time. The back log is years long, if the absent parent doesn't pay, you have to go to court to force th eissue, but if you're working, you have to pay for that and solicitors/lawyers are around $400-500 per hour!

Some people get it for free (Legal Aid), but only if they fit certain criteria such as no work at all, no savings, blah blah ... it's a terrible state of affairs for people.

I believe the most the courts can do here is to apply to have the money taken directly from the absent parents salary, but if they don't work .. they get nothing, nada, zip!

One more thing ... the 2nd post in this thread for me was ok. .. they didn't judge at all, just offered an alternative. I think the OP was quite rude actually, unecessarily so.

Anyway, I'm shocked that such drastic action can be taken .. but wish it were more like that here!!

 

[jmarsh]

There are agencies that help collect child support in the states too. At least there is one in California, and I would think the other states have them too. The one in California isn't the best but they do have one...

 

[cieslack]

That Carnival Cruise board sounds like a rough crowd...anything goes over there, I guess.