Child Support InTwo Different States

by Robert Jones
(South Carolina)

My wife and I divorced in 2009 in the state of Va. At the time of the divorce the court ruled that I would pay $651 a month in ongoing support and that I had an arrearage of $2439 in support due for a previous period of time that I was unemployed. I have been making payments since the time of the divorce but have gotten behind by $1,600 due to financial hardship.

The ongoing support and the arrears were lumped together in my payments but were kept separate in the divorce decree. Since I got $1,600 behind her attorney said that means I made no arrearage payments in those lump sum payments so they say I am about $4,000 behind.

Since the divorce I have moved to S.C. (my home state) and my ex. has moved back to her home state of La.

I got a notice from the court in La. last week that said I had to go to court in La. on June 28th to show cause why I shouldn't be found in contempt; why my income tax return should not be seized (even though I had none), why my license shouldn't be suspended, why I shouldn't pay her attorney fees, why the visitation plan shouldn't be altered and on and on.

I visited with one attorney in S.C. for a free consult and he indicated that he could help me with the child support issues but not with the visitation issues, that I would have to retain an attorney in La. for that. Is that correct?

I spoke with DSS and they said they have received nothing on their desk from my ex's attorney. They originally were asked to be involved when my ex. said I had paid nothing and was over $14,000 in arrears. I sent evidence of payment in and then that's when the amount got cut down to the 4 k I mentioned.

Questions: Should I retain a La. attorney even though I live in S.C.? How do I get a continuance? If I lose my license I will lose my sales job and won't be able to send any support; can they do that?