Ag wont stop child support..rights terminated

My husband adopted his ex-wife's child. After they split things were ok for a while until she found out he was dating (he was dating me but she didnt care WHO it was just that he was moving on) and she started refusing visitation and wouldnt allow us to even talk to the child on the phone. She gave in twice and let her visit but, once she found out we had given birth to a son of our own she flipped out and all contact stopped.

We spent almost $5000 dollars fighting her in court and, the county we live in didnt seem to do more than slap her on the wrist. We were told non-stop by the ex AND her rich family that, he wasnt her father anyway and didnt need visitation. But they sure cash his child support checks every month! Needless to say she continued her behavior and we ran out of money to fight. Eventually we stopped calling and stopped trying to see the child.

3 years went by and we got a call from the ex's sister. She advised us that the child had been living with her for a couple of years now and the ex is mostly out of the picture. The sister and her husband want full custody of the child but that would mean my husband would have to relinquish his rights so that they may eventually adopt her. They also agreed to stop child support. We agreed and everything was signed and entered.

We got the final papers last week and submitted them to our attorney general here in our Texas County to have the support stopped and they advised us the orders arent valid because their county has no jurisdiction here...WHAT DO WE DO TO FIX THIS?

We contacted the sister to let her know there was a problem and she is supposed to be concerned and working on it, but 2 weeks have passed and nothing is getting done. The AG attorney is constantly in court and we cant get them to call us back AND the lawyer that did the orders has stopped answering all calls also...what do we do now?

"WHAT DO WE DO TO FIX THIS?"

I am not a lawyer.  Here is a possible solution:

File in the appropriate county court for termination of child support.   

Is the child adopted yet? Many jurisdictions support continues between the period of relinquishment of parental rights and adoption.  If the child has been adopted- you would need to file a Petition to terminate support in whatever jurisdiction support was entered.

I deleted your reply and all its responses.  This site aims solely to provide general legal information.  If you can't provide that in a post, then, as the original poster said, "save it".  We are not here to get into the should/shouldn'ts, agree/disagrees, and right/wrongs of responders' opinions.  People come with their current situations, and we need to respect that and respond to that, not to how things got this way, etc., which is, frankly, none of our business.  Just because you made what, on the surface, could appear as a sympathetic statement made it no less a criticism (or "judgment", as the OP said).  Don't do that here.  It only serves to inflame and complicate discussions.  Such responses will be deleted.

She wont be adopted...her Aunt and Uncle took custody. The order states that my husbands obligation is reduced to zero..but the AG wont accept the order, stating an order to stop support has to come from the county the divorce and original obligation was done in. We would like to handle this PRO SE due to financial constraints so if there are forms I can get and file to take care of this, I would LOVE to know...but we do HAVE to do something. So in the end, if I have to hire a PRO I will do it gladly...just to get it over with. Its definitely not easy trying to figure all this stuff out. Now I see why they pay Lawyers the big bucks and will never scoff at an attorney's fees EVER AGAIN!

And here is another question. The Attorney General's Office is supposed to assist with child support cases. They will certainly take my husband to court if he gets behind, and assist the Mom in collecting...so, why is it that we have a legal, court signed document stating the child support obligation is over, and they wont even return our emails or phone calls. They say the person we need to talk to is in court...everyday. So, we cant get assistance but, let him get behind on those payments...and I bet we talk to someone from their office pretty quickly. Cant they file the forms with the court? Cant they call us and let us know what forms we need to file with the court?

" stating an order to stop support has to come from the county the divorce and original obligation was done in. We would like to handle this PRO SE due to financial constraints"

Your County Court house might have a website detailing the information you need to file a motion to terminate the child support. 

JoBraver might be able give you more information on a motion to "Vacate the Child Support Order".

I previously posted links that possibly could have given you information about the laws in your state, however that was deleted.  If I find it again, I will repost here.

"Cant they call us and let us know what forms we need to file with the court?"

I agree with all of your concerns.  If you know the person's name at the AG's office, you might consider writing that person.  I'm not sure you will get a timely response (if any at all), but it's better than not taking any action.

Here are a few links that might offer information for your situation (you will need to just read through some to get your answers):

http://www.formsworkflow.com/findlegalforms.aspx?q=child+support&s=Texas

 

 

You dont know how much help you guys have been to me. Two days ago, we felt lost like, we got screwed over by this rich family once again...and werent sure what our options were. This woman that is taking custody of the child went to Law School and graduated but couldnt pass the bar exam. She knows alot about the law and has friends in the business. After discussing the issue on this forum and finding out there IS something we can do about it, we were told by someone close to that family that they did this to us on purpose, betting on the fact that my husband usually just gives up when things get a little tough. They figured he would never fix our problem on our end and just continue supporting the ex wife so they wouldnt have to help her financially anymore...

Now that they are figuring out that I am finding out ways to fix this, the truth is coming out. I have an appointment with a lawyer today. I am going to try and fix this PRO SE to help with costs but, also pay the Lawyer fees to assist me. That seems like money well spent. And if it seems I am in over my head, I will give the Lawyer the reigns. It seems the best way to handle this will be to file a Termination of Parental Rights and a Termination of Child Support order...at the same time. And because the other orders from Bexar County were already signed by all parties, it should go pretty smoothly, or, as smoothly as it can anyway..LOL. THANK YOU SO MUCH...for all the help. It was more appreciated than you know....

We have been in contact with the AG's office several times and had consultations with 3 lawyers. The AG keeps sticking to this jurisdictional thing. The original petition states that "no court currently has continuous jurisdiction over the matter" and that was untrue. Johnson County did the divorce and started the child support order so, the Attorney that filed these motions should have requested a transfer before doing any of this but he didnt. But all parties were in agreement over the whole thing so, nobody was arguing jurisdiction.

The 3 lawyers we spoke to all said the same thing. The AG should honor the orders. It isnt their place to argue jurisdiction. The new custodial parents took financial responsibility as well as maintaining health insurance. So, they have no right to argue over the document. But they are. And they are still refusing to stop the child support. They are saying we have to refile everything in the proper way from the start. And the relatives that have the child are telling us they arent going to do that. So, we are stuck. Paying support. I suppose till the child is 18.

smartredcookie2006:

The 3 lawyers we spoke to all said the same thing. The AG should honor the orders. It isnt their place to argue jurisdiction.

Maybe go back to the 3 lawyers and tell them that what they should do and what they did do are not the same, so now what do you do? Or maybe you could make an appointment to go to the AG's office in person with your paperwork in hand and make somebody go over it with you in person rather than giving you the brush-off over the phone?

"They are saying we have to refile everything in the proper way from the start."

So DO it.  Hire a lawyer in the county where the child lives and file for a modification of child support.  In the motion you attach all the other paperwork.  You are going to have to have it heard where the kid is.  Trying to do anything in the county where you are and kid isn't is pointless.  That is what AG is trying to tell you.  Get a court order from court where kid lives.  Of course new parents aren't filing proper paperwork:  they are collecting HIS money.  In the order for modification I would seek a refund of the CS paid since they adopted and he relinquished rights based upon fraud by Mother's sister in not filing paperwork timely.  That should get her attention.

I like ClydesMom's advice better than my own.

Thanks raineecat.  :)

Just to add a few thoughts:

In one of your posts you said this:

"but the AG wont accept the order, stating an order to stop support has to come from the county the divorce and original obligation was done in."

That right there is your answer.  File in that court.  Once the support order is entered THAT is the court that has jurisdiction.  The AG is correct in refering you back to that court.  If the AG accepts the order from a court that had no jurisdiction (which it doesn't because child is not with your husband) then the "parents" can file all over again for non-support.  It has to go back to the original court by law.

Of course the AG isn't getting involved in STOPPING support.  If you had the order from the correct division and they were still collecting:  sure.  They have their hands full with deadbeat parents not paying and criminal division.  One family trying to stop support with an order the AG can't enforce is low priority.

Head back to the right jurisdiction and file.  On a personal thought:  a small claims case for money paid might also get parents off their duff to do the right thing.