Q. My Ex was injured on the job, became depressed and hasn’t been able to work for four months. He filed a complaint for modification looking to stop child support until he is recovered. On the morning his motion was to be heard, I showed up – but he didn’t.
When the case was called, I told the judge my ex’s history of depression and that I was willing to suspend child support for the next six months to give my ex a chance to get back to work.
I did that to be sure my ex’s parenting time with our daughter isn’t stressful for either of them. I will be OK with no support for the next six months.
The judge dismissed the case because my ex did not show up.
Can you explain that result?
A. I don’t know how dismissing the case furthers the interest of justice. But I do know lawyers don’t try to determine why the judge made this or that order. Some judges have their own policy to dismiss such cases. Other judges would just take the motion off the list and let your ex put on a list for another day.
If you want, you and your ex can assent to a motion to revoke the dismissal and to suspend child support for the six months from that date, after which child support is to resume without the need for a further motion or court order. That way, your ex also saves having to pay another court-filing fee.
Then file the stipulation and the motion, together with an updated financial statement for each of you. Ask that the case be put on the uncontested motion list. You should both show up for that hearing. But if your ex cannot show up, he needs to provide an affidavit by his psychologist or psychiatrist to support claims that he is psychologically unable to be in court.
Hopefully, the judge will reopen the case, enter a temporary order incorporating your stipulation, and assign a pre-trial date for eight or nine month later. That gives both of you time to then reassess your respective situations.
While understanding your motivation, you should not make his problems your problems. If he is unable to work and cannot pay child support you’d be wasting your time and money by filing a complaint for contempt. That’s because, if he cannot pay while he is standing in front of the judge, the judge will be obligated by law to dismiss your contempt.
You did not do anything wrong. But it may be, to modify an old saying, that your good deed will do you no good.