Best Posts in Thread: jail time for those who don't pay child support

Hmmmmm, seemingly unenforceable but a step in the right direction. I'll provide an example, the trouble n strifes' sister was deserted some 10 years ago by her husband. He just disappeared overnight leaving 3 kids. Of course family being family they knock on our doors for support from time to time. She has 3 great kids and it seemed yet another story of injustice after injustice with the kids suffering. What he didn't count on was how p*ssed off I would become dipping into my pocket every 10 minutes for a few kilos of rice, a pair of shoes, school whatever or medical bills.

So I hired an attorney on her behalf and a Private Eye to track him down. Turns out he was living the life of Riley as an OFW in Europe. d*mn near earning as much as me with a new squeeze and a couple of kids in the smoke here in the Phils. One court case later has saved me a heap of Pesos: Costs awarded, a financial lump sum to the sister and a regular liveable income to her with the threat of jail time if he defaults. The charge would be estafya, contempt, economic violence and a heap of other stuff. Bang to rights.

I guess the law is there (unfortunately if you can afford it); so any step forward for children's and women's rights in these instances is good news to me - and yes that goes for women deserting their kids too. Being the optimist I just hope it is regularly, fairly and properly enforced. Then again I am the Patron Saints of Lost Causes.....

C

 

Hi,

easy peasy. I gave her P1K for a consult with a law firm in the Dumaguete. They wanted about P20K for registering a case and bringing it to Court -admin etc. The PI was P9K p.week to track him down (he left for Europe on a OFW contract)...total outlay I guess in the region of 30-40K all said and done.

When it came to Court it was an open and shut. The Phils does have laws, they do wish to enforce them (surprise surprise). The judgement awarded costs ( I got my outlay back), she got child support and a lump sum for backdated stuff - and if the sap refused to pay up the Court would have withdrawn his passport making it impossible to work - and facing jail time on return from Europe (contempt etc, violation of the violence against women laws as they count economic violence too. A heap of other stuff too. He was looking at 2-4 years jail if he failed to comply).

The sister-in-law obtained a court order for the employees firm in Manila to take the money direct from his wages. Everybody's happy...well not the ex as he thought he was as free as a bird and everything was just peachy with his new set up and live in bit of fluff. Rude awakening alert!

I just got tired of forking out all the time for the necessaries for her kids. I don't see why I should have to impoverish myself just as he decides family life is too burdensome and the grass is greener. A bit of research on this pays off...if you want the Attorneys name and more detail PM me, this was a 4-6 month effort with a slam dunk at the end. Cheers.

C

 

I think every civilized nation should enforce child support. There are times however when it is a club used by the parent with custody to beat the other parent about the head and shoulders. One of my sisters friends went through a bitter divorce. As a result of the divorce and what appeared to be a less than equitable sharing of assets the guy was in poor financial health. Along comes the economic downturn and the man lost his job. Not being too proud the man took a lower paying job which did not allow him to pay all of the child support that he owed every month. The guy did make monthly payments, but each month he fell further and further behind. His ex-wife was rather vindictive and had the man jailed for non-support. During this time he fell even further behind and lost his job. Once he got out of jail he moved in with friends and started looking for a job. Just about the time that he found one he was once again charged with non-support, and back to jail he went.

The moral, if there is one in this story, is that there should be temperance in the decisions of and punishments handed out by the courts.

 

Nice on paper but if they arrested all the delinquent fathers they wouldn't have anywhere enough room for them all and who would guard all the prisoners when all the police, prison guards and everyone else are already in jail...

 

This country has an expertise on making laws that goes beyond any imagination as enforcement is not part of it so.............!!