support

[lillygator]

Help!!! If anyone knows about this process please enlighten me....
Here's the situation father has been absent for five years although he lives ten minutes away. I am married to someone else and have another child. The four of us are on Medicaid as neither of our jobs supply health insurance. In order to receive benefits I am periodically required to go to child support enforcement. Nothing has ever come of this as I don't have an address or phone number for him or a ss # or anything but his name and birthdate. Today I ran into his sister who I have kept in touch with off and on, she informed me of a court date he has regarding child support in two days....

Now what, why have they not informed me? Does this even make sense and where could I find info on the court date

out of curiousity - your job doesn't "supply" insurance, as in fully pay for it for you, or they provide it at a cost and you choose not to purchase? (you and DH are both willing to work for employers who offer no insurance and you have kids?)

 

[JoiseyMom]

out of curiousity - your job doesn't "supply" insurance, as in fully pay for it for you, or they provide it at a cost and you choose not to purchase? (you and DH are both willing to work for employers who offer no insurance and you have kids?)

You do realize there are lots of jobs in this country that don't offer health insurance. I think there are many more small companies with under 50 employees then bigger companies. And in today's job market most people are happy to have a job. Especially in FL where unemployment is still high.

 

[Colleen27]

No. The child's welfare trumps someone feeling uncomfortable about being "put in a position". The SIL 's loyalty should be with her niece or nephew over her brother at all times.

"Should be" and "is" are two different things.

Forgot to mention, if the deadbeat parent doesn't pay up, they put them in jail. It's the State that wants the money they have already paid out (Medicaid). If you don't want your ex harrassed then you would have to decline those funds.

Let me guess... You have no experience with either system?

I have only dealt with child support and public assistance in Michigan (child support as a mother, assistance as an employee of human services), so it could be different elsewhere but I doubt it.

First of all, there's no room in jail for guys who don't pay child support - at worst, they haul him in front of a judge every now and again, tell him to get a job, and give him probation/fines (which, by the way, are collected before child support if there are withholding/garnishment orders in place for both). Aside from the few headline-worthy deadbeats - you know, the ones with dozens of kids, all on assistance - there's little real enforcement going on. My father owed over 100K by the time my brother and I reached adulthood and the government knew where he was every minute of all those years but he never spent a day in jail over it. My ex hasn't either, even though he's about 4.5 years in arrears on DS15's support order and has never paid a single dime of support for his younger son (different mother) who is on food stamps and medicaid.

Second for non-cash support the state doesn't seek reimbursement in most cases; there are situations where it can happen but they aren't the norm. For cash assistance they do keep a portion of any support collected as repayment, but that doesn't apply to other forms of public assistance. They only pursue support for most recipients because it is countable income and therefore reduces eligibility.

 

[mrsmomo]

That didn't take long to start stirring the pot !!

People on medicaid don't get to travel ? Not even in their own state, when they get Florida resident discounts ? OP might sell plasma , baby sit , save her pennies , shop garage sales for clothes , clip coupons etc.. all so her child can have a little fun.

Actually I do all of those things lol, we also get a lot of hand me downs, not to mention I saved for three years to go on the first trip! That's when we found out it costs way less than we ever thought, so we penny pinched and saved again but thanks so much for your concern sarcasm here is not directed at ilovejack02 just in case that gets read wrong

 

[Colleen27]

You do realize there are lots of jobs in this country that don't offer health insurance. I think there are many more small companies with under 50 employees then bigger companies. And in today's job market most people are happy to have a job. Especially in FL where unemployment is still high.

Exactly. It is simplistic to the point of disingenuous to argue that everyone can just run out and find a job that offers benefits. Small companies frequently don't offer them at all, and bigger companies do but at a cost that many employees can't afford. And anyone who has been paying attention knows that the recession is over for the "haves" but that the lost jobs aren't coming back and the jobs being added are mostly low-wage, part-time, service sector... Exactly the jobs that don't offer benefits or pass along so much of the cost that only management can afford to buy in.

 

[mrsmomo]

I guess if I were clipping coupons and shopping garage sales, I would be spending that savings on purchasing health insurance for my family. Travel is a luxury that I would not feel I could afford if I were on medicaid.

I tried that they wouldn't let me, I don't want Medicaid I want good insurance that you have to pay for but they wont let me get it for my kids cause I don't make enough to qualify they shuffle my paperwork right back to Medicaid, but thanks for just assuming I hadn't already tried that.

 

[mrsmomo]

My husband closed his business in part because of health insurance costs - when you can't get it through an employer, you're looking at 10-15K or more for a family plan. No amount of coupon clipping or garage sale shopping is going to save enough to purchase insurance for a family. Not even canceling the Disney trip adds up to that kind of savings, particularly not for a FL resident who has access to discounts on just about everything Disney.

The OP already posted that they're a two income family. I don't know how the FL guidelines look, but here the cutoff is at 200% of the poverty level, or about $47K for a family of 4. There are plenty of families living on less than that who can afford budget vacations but can't afford to put out 25% or more of their household income for private insurance.

Thank you

 

[mrsmomo]

Agreed.
How about using the trip money to get some kind of education or job training and get a better job, with benefits, to support the kids?

Real cute but I have a degree there we go assuming again lol, fl was hit very hard during the housing collapse right after I got my degree and what do you know only min wage jobs are available because everyone is out of work

 

[joviroxx]

A Florida resident can go to Disney very cheaply....it's a day trip for a lot of families. And Disney almost always has a Florida resident deal, like $99 for a 3 or 4 day ticket, once a year.

And yet somehow, in the world of conservative magical thinking, a $500 vacation is the same as spending $10,000 a year on health care.

Yeah, but Im a FL resident and 7 day vacations with park hoppers, dining with princesses at Norway, Pirate League, Castle meals, PO Royal Rooms, nope, its a lot more than $500 each trip. But its ok, we all should do what we feel is right...

 

[mrsmomo]

Wow so many comments so little time lol. As for giving his information the last time I had it I gave it to them this was before he abandoned her for the second time. Since then I have been to the enforcement office three times and every time they closed the case. Do I want to find him absolutely not, my dd has never liked him because of his actions towards me including but not limited to screaming at me, poking me in the head, throwing things at me and yes in front of her. So no I will not go look for a man that she doesn't like, that I don't believe is capable of treating her right, and most importantly has chosen to not even call on her birthday my number didn't change only my age and with it understand that the choices in my past have put me in the situation I'm in today. A position that I have been trying to make the best of and work my way out of with every opportunity I make for my family. I was looking for guidance by way of experience and I got some of this here so thank you to those who have given me useful information.

 

[mrsmomo]

Yeah, but Im a FL resident and 7 day vacations with park hoppers, dining with princesses at Norway, Pirate League, Castle meals, PO Royal Rooms, nope, its a lot more than $500 each trip. But its ok, we all should do what we feel is right...

Never done pirates league yes we have free dining so I will take my daughter to the castle! Norway was last trip so not relevant. And yes we chose a royal room over Christmas presents but go ahead judge me!!

 

[Jex]

I'm not judging the trip. I am confused as to finding him for her though. Do you not want to find him for child support?

 

[luvsJack]

Why does everyone do this???

STOP judging thing you know nothing about! Each state has a different level of income that will qualify for medicaid. Each state has a different way of getting people on insurance or medicaid. She doesn't make enough to pay for insurance. Insurance can be expensive. And so the state says she can get medicaid. That doesn't mean she has to live her life never ever going anywhere or doing anything.

She isn't "living off the government" She has a job. She is supporting herself and her family but she is getting assistance and that is what its there for.

I can understand why she doesn't want an abusive man to be found. If she leaves him alone maybe he will leave her child alone.

 

[maelstrom]

Why does everyone do this???

STOP judging thing you know nothing about! Each state has a different level of income that will qualify for medicaid. Each state has a different way of getting people on insurance or medicaid. She doesn't make enough to pay for insurance. Insurance can be expensive. And so the state says she can get medicaid. That doesn't mean she has to live her life never ever going anywhere or doing anything.

She isn't "living off the government" She has a job. She is supporting herself and her family but she is getting assistance and that is what its there for.

I can understand why she doesn't want an abusive man to be found. If she leaves him alone maybe he will leave her child alone.

If I could "Like" on here, I would "Like" this.

Aside from that... they won't lock it, unfortunately, they'll continue to let people berate you for taking your children to WDW while on Medicaid. I'm sorry. You know how I feel.

 

[JessicaR]

Why does everyone do this???

STOP judging thing you know nothing about! Each state has a different level of income that will qualify for medicaid. Each state has a different way of getting people on insurance or medicaid. She doesn't make enough to pay for insurance. Insurance can be expensive. And so the state says she can get medicaid. That doesn't mean she has to live her life never ever going anywhere or doing anything.

She isn't "living off the government" She has a job. She is supporting herself and her family but she is getting assistance and that is what its there for.

I can understand why she doesn't want an abusive man to be found. If she leaves him alone maybe he will leave her child alone.

Exactly - STOP judging!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Why does everyone do this???

STOP judging thing you know nothing about! Each state has a different level of income that will qualify for medicaid. Each state has a different way of getting people on insurance or medicaid. She doesn't make enough to pay for insurance. Insurance can be expensive. And so the state says she can get medicaid. That doesn't mean she has to live her life never ever going anywhere or doing anything.

She isn't "living off the government" She has a job. She is supporting herself and her family but she is getting assistance and that is what its there for.

I can understand why she doesn't want an abusive man to be found. If she leaves him alone maybe he will leave her child alone.

Amen!

 

[sbtrfly74]

I do feel for you, but you are entitled child support no matter what the circumstances are. Im not in Fla but left NC after 4 months and went back to MD and filed immediately for child support.

But it didnt accumulate from there. My ex-DH moved back to MD from NC which pushed things back and child support didnt accumulate until the courts recognized it officially so at least a year later after we were separated. So once official I think it was 850 a month for 2 kids (he was hiding income) NC stated 1150 at a court ruling, never figured out how that didnt get on record. But I never saw a penny of any of it.

My opinion is let it go if things are going how you want it, I.E he's not in the kids life and your not getting child support and its A OK.

If you want child support then expect him to want visitation, hope all goes well.

 

[Missy1961]

Changing the title will just make people curious.

 

[disneycrazi]

Wow so many comments so little time lol. As for giving his information the last time I had it I gave it to them this was before he abandoned her for the second time. Since then I have been to the enforcement office three times and every time they closed the case. Do I want to find him absolutely not, my dd has never liked him because of his actions towards me including but not limited to screaming at me, poking me in the head, throwing things at me and yes in front of her. So no I will not go look for a man that she doesn't like, that I don't believe is capable of treating her right, and most importantly has chosen to not even call on her birthday my number didn't change only my age and with it understand that the choices in my past have put me in the situation I'm in today. A position that I have been trying to make the best of and work my way out of with every opportunity I make for my family. I was looking for guidance by way of experience and I got some of this here so thank you to those who have given me useful information.

No useful info here...just wanna offer some encouragement.....enjoy the trips you take, as many as you can! Keep pushing, things will get better. I sense you are strong and can do whatever you set your mind to! Blessings to you!

 

[sbtrfly74]

I tried that they wouldn't let me, I don't want Medicaid I want good insurance that you have to pay for but they wont let me get it for my kids cause I don't make enough to qualify they shuffle my paperwork right back to Medicaid, but thanks for just assuming I hadn't already tried that.

Have you googled health care coverage or something of that sort?

When I was separated from my DH I didnt have medical insurance for a while and had to pay out of pocket but did have a dental plan that wasn't (insurance) but coverage. I paid 250 a year for all three of us and am wondering if you could look into that type of plan for medical?

Its not considered insurance but a low cost plan or coverage.