My mother is stealing my child support money, what should I do?
My mother is stealing my child support money, what should I do?
There is a Utah statute that allows a child support payor to request that the child support recipient account for how the child support money is spent:
78B-12-218. Accountability of support provided to benefit child — Accounting.
(1) The court or administrative agency which issues the initial or modified order for child support may, upon the petition of the obligor, order prospectively the obligee to furnish an accounting of amounts provided for the child’s benefit to the obligor, including an accounting or receipts.
(2) The court or administrative agency may prescribe the frequency and the form of the accounting which shall include receipts and an accounting.
(3) The obligor may petition for the accounting only if current on all child support that has been ordered.
If by “my mother is stealing my child support money,” you mean that she is violating her fiduciary duty to use the money for your support, then how are you suffering? Are you going without the necessities of life? Are you hungry, wearing worn out or insufficient clothing (holes in shoes, no coat in winter, etc.)? Is your housing inadequate? Are school fees and expenses going unpaid and causing your education to suffer?
If by “stealing” you mean that she is not giving the money directly to you, then you need to understand that she is not required by law to do that.
Is your mother spending the child support money on herself? If so, how would you prove that? Do her expenses exceed her personal earned income?
Unless you can show that you are suffering as a result of your mother failing to spend child support funds on your care and support, there is likely no point in complaining, if your mother isn’t spending all the support funds on you.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Tags: accountability, accounting, Child Support, fiduciary duty, stealing