Can overpaid child support be returned?
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Can overpaid child support be returned?
My fiancé had an ongoing court case to establish child support at the same time he was starting a second job. The first CS order was set considering only his first job and he paid that amount weekly until they determined what he owed from his second job. A new order was set raising the amount and establishing arrears for the difference from the day he started his second job to the date it was set. He was told in court that it would take a while to reach his employer and that he should give his ex personal checks every week making up the difference until his employer withheld the full amount, which he did. A large portion of his tax return was sent to the child support agency to cover his arrearage. But the amount of arrearage has doubled, totaling exactly the amount of the original arrearage plus what he paid in personal checks directly to her that the state has no record of. He waspaying the full amount that entire time, and was told in court to do so. My question is, will he get the money back that was withheld from his tax return (minus the original arrearage amount) if he shows proof he was actually paying full child support all those weeks? And are carbon copies of his checks sufficient proof or does he need to also get proof from the bank that his ex cashed those checks?
Asked on February 15, 2011 under Family Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
He will probably not get the money back unless he takes action himself--i.e. it's unlikely the money will be voluntarily returned to him unless he brings the issue up and, if necessary, takes legal action. However, his only obligation is to pay what he was required to under the support order; if he's paid to much, he is entitled to get the extra back (or arguably, work out something where the surplus is credited towards future payments, giving him a "holiday" from paying). But again, he may need to go to court to get his done. In the meantime, getting proof that the checks were actually cashed would certainly be beneficial, since that proves receipt of money, not just that checks were written. (Since a check could be written then torn up, never sent, etc.) So he should look to get that information from the bank.
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