More than 100,000 reservists are currently stationed in Iraq, as
well as 2,500 members of the Illinois National Guard. Many will
remain on active duty for as long as 18 months. But will some
Illinois fathers' homecoming be a jail cell?
It's difficult to believe, but the answer may be "yes."
It happened after the first Gulf War. Some of the more than
250,000 reservists called up returned saddled with large child
support arrearages they were unable to pay. As interest and
penalties on the overdue support piled up, many spent years
trying to dig themselves out of debt, while often facing
unremitting government harassment. Some lost their driver's
licenses and business licenses. Others had their passports and
bank accounts seized and their taxes intercepted. Some even
faced jail.
Many reservists and guardsmen currently serving abroad are
facing the same problem. Their child support obligations are
based on their civilian pay, which is generally higher than
active duty pay. When called up they are sometimes obligated to
pay an impossibly high percentage of their income in child
support.
For example, the active-duty pay of an Illinois National
Guardsman who has served for five years and is an (E5) is $1,991
before taxes. If this guardsman is a divorced father of three
whose civilian pay is $4,500 a month after taxes, his child
support is generally about $1,450 a month--nearly three-quarters
of his active-duty pay.
Normally when an obligor loses his job or suffers a pay cut he
can go to court and request a downward modification. However,
since guardsmen and reservists are sometimes mobilized with as
little as one day's notice, few are able to obtain modifications
before they leave. Worse, these soldiers cannot get relief when
they return home because the federal Bradley amendment prevents
judges from retroactively forgiving support.
Fortunately a workable solution to this problem was just
introduced into the Illinois legislature by Senator Iris
Martinez (D-Chicago) and Representative Cynthia Soto
(D-Chicago). Senate Bill 2895 would require courts to modify the
child support obligations of guardsmen and reservists stationed
abroad by the same proportion that the soldier's military pay
falls below his civilian pay. The modification would be
retroactive to the date the soldiers were called up to active
duty, and the obligor would have six months from the date of his
discharge from active duty to file for the reduction.
Missouri passed legislation to address this problem shortly
before the first Gulf War, and the legislation has been
effective in protecting fathers.
The child support snare faced by many reservists and guardsmen
represents an avoidable and morally indefensible breach of faith
with fathers who serve. All of us can agree that fathers should
do right by their children. SB 2895 will ensure that the child
support system does right by fathers.
This column first appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times (3/3/04).
Glenn Sacks is a radio talk show host and
columnist on men's and fathers' issues.
His nationally syndicated radio show,
His Side with Glenn Sacks,
can be heard every Sunday in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Jeff
Leving is one of America's most prominent family law
attorneys. He is the author of
Fathers'
Rights: Hard-hitting and Fair Advice for Every Father Involved
in a Custody Dispute. Visit his website at
www.DadsRights.com.
