Non-custodial parents who are required to pay child support work very hard to give their children the financial support they need to live happily and healthily. Child support payments usually take up a large portion of the parent’s paycheck, so it is imperative that the money be going directly to the child. However, a lawsuit filed recently accuses the state of Ohio of purposely over-collecting child support payments from unsuspecting parents in order to benefit from incentives from the federal government.
According to the lawsuit, the state has taken millions of dollars from hard-working parents who just want to provide for their children. The parents have no way of knowing if they have paid more than they were required to by the courts. The lawsuit alleges that there are more than 114,000 parents who are affected by this problem.
Spokespeople for the state have not commented on the allegations. With what could be $176 million worth of payments hanging in the balance, the lawsuit likely seeks to deliver the over-paid money back to those that it belongs to.
Child support payments are often very important to the children who receive them. While most parents only want what is best for their children, they are only required to pay as much as the courts have ordered them to. Because many hard-working parents live paycheck to paycheck, the over collection could have put them in a very difficult financial situation. For those in this situation, seeking experienced legal counsel may be beneficial in making sure you are paying the correct amount of child support.
Source: Fox19.com, “Lawsuit: Ohio Collecting Too Much In Child Support,” Associated Press, 9 May, 2011