Unbalanced Child Support Albuquerque New Mexico

by Thomas Kelly
(Albuquerque, NM, USA)

I am a father of a 21-year-old daughter. I was required to pay child support and have a substantial arrearages balance. I have a 5-page story, which explains everything that impacted my support payments. I cannot include that here. Instead I will give you a VERY base breakdown of a few issues:

I was unable to pay the amount each month. I came to my first hearing and the State Rep said he was not on either side, he then proceeded to sit me at the far end of the room (alone) and he sat with my ex-wife at the other end. And because I could not afford a lawyer, I brought records of hospital stays, unpaid recovery periods, auto repair bills, towing expenses and lost work hours. However, without a lawyer, the judge didn't even allow me to present a single thing. He wouldn't even let me put it on the table. "I don't want to see it. None of that matters." I asked why, he said, "Because I said so."

Then after selling a family heirloom, I managed to pay a retainer for a lawyer (which basically paid for one hearing). He managed to prove I could not afford the monthly amount and it was reduced considerably. However, the arrearages I owe are calculated based on the amount it was previously proven I could not afford. The arrearages amount is over 3 times what I could afford to pay. That is a substantial difference.