August 5, 2016
By Ned Holstein, MD, MS Founder and Chair of the Board, National Parents Organization
How many times do we have to watch the family courts trample on the laws?
Many veterans with service-connected disability compensation benefits are asking this question. Federal law clearly states that such benefits cannot be counted as income for purposes of calculating child support orders. And yet, in state after state, we hear of family courts doing exactly that.
Greg Parsons of the Disabled Vet Child Support Info Group has written a brief that can be used to fight against this abuse. With his permission, you can find it here.
The portions printed in red need to be customized to your particular case, including the state in which you are litigating.
Our own Robert Franklin, Esq. tells me that the brief is competent and the legal citations useful, but takes no position on whether this brief is something you should use. He points out that it should not call itself an “affidavit,” that instead it is a brief. I am not a lawyer, and do not presume to give legal advice. So you will need to run it by a lawyer before filing it in your case. Still, Greg tells us that it has been successful in reversing improper child support orders in more than one state.
Let us know how it works out if you decide to use it after seeking legal advice.