(03-27-2019 08:13 AM)CliftonAve Wrote: http://www.fox19.com/2019/03/27/mother-w...rly-years/
Hmm.. $150K. I have a real problem with this. The biggest beef I have is that this appears to be punitive in nature and that so much time has passed since the child was a minor (I am guessing the subject of the order has to be in her 60s herself). On top of all this, what benefit does award serve to the child (who once again is no longer a child)?
I married a girl who had a son. He was 12 when I met her and 14 when she and I got married.
His father never participated in his life. Well, once in a blue moon he'd answer the phone when his child called and promise to do something with him.
It was tough watching this kid wait on the front porch steps because his dad was picking him up and they were going to the park, the game, _______ (fill in the blank).
It was tougher trying to comfort him after his heart was broken each and every time.
He and I went to a Men's Conference at our church once. The speaker mentioned his son was in attendance along with his son's friend. He mentioned the friend's father had recently passed away.
I turned to my stepson and said, "I don't know which is worse: losing a father or never having one."
My wife got pregnant her senior year in high school by her boyfriend. Once she told him, he wanted her to get an abortion. She wouldn't do it. Her own mother told her to get an abortion. She wouldn't do it. Her grandmother told her to keep the child.
I respect my wife more than I can say for her decision to not kill her baby. I respect her grandmother for being there and giving her the morally correct guidance.
My wife was awarded child support. As a single teen mother and later as a single 20s mother, it was incredibly difficult for her to work and support the two of them.
She never received a child support check. She'd contact the Juvenile Court officer and they'd schedule a court date. When delivering the court order to the father they discovered he had moved. The problem with this is that Memphis is actually a tri-state area: Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Three states, three sets of laws, three court systems.
The father didn't move far, just across the state line. She'd file a case for child support collections in state # 2. He'd move to state # 3. Still in the Memphis metro area, mind you.
Once she and I got married, she didn't
need child support payments.
By the time her son, my stepson, was 18, she finally found a lawyer who was able to handle the situation. His tax refunds were intercepted. His wages were garnished.
But by this time, it wasn't about need. It was about justice.
It was about payment for broken promises and broken hearts.
Yeah, it was punitive.
But it was justice.
And the guy still got off easy given the psychological damage he inflicted on another human being -- a child who grew into a man: The pain of thinking you were worthless. Not even your own father cared about you.