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Video Transcribed: Has your driver’s license been revoked for failure to pay child support? I’m Tulsa attorney James Wirth. We’re about to talk about what to do if your driver’s license is being revoked for failure to pay child support.
First off, if you’re behind on child support for 90 days or more, the equivalent of an amount owed in arrearage of 90 days of more of support, then the state of Oklahoma through DHS Child Support Services, or the person that you’re paying child support to or owed child support to can make the request that your driver’s license be suspended.
If that has happened, the first thing you want to do is see if you can get caught up. If you can get caught up in full, great, before you get into court on it, that’s going to be helpful.
If you can’t, you want at least get current less than 90 days, so you can make the request or make the argument it doesn’t meet the statute. Okay? That’s your second best option.
If you’re unable to do either of those two things, you can’t get it paid current enough to where you can argue that you not past due more than 90 days, then what you want to argue is that your driver’s license is needed to maintain employment.
You need it for the ability to make money so you can pay that support and argue that the court should not revoke your driver’s license, but instead, perhaps put you on probation for revocation of a driver’s license.
Under that, you can request a three year repayment plan to get caught up on back due child support, so you’re making equal payments for 36 months toward the arrearage so that after that 36 months you’re caught up and through that 36 months, you pay current on your back support.
That way you’re on probation, you set some reviews, but you maintain your driver’s license in place so you can continue to work and have that available.
And I say, probation, it’s not criminal probation. It’s not a criminal offense. It’s just that the court could set for reviews to make sure that you’re in compliance.
If you’re not in compliance, by paying on the arrearage payment and your current child support, they could revoke your driver’s license at that point.
If it’s already too late for you, your driver’s license has already been revoked or you’re at a time period where you can’t afford to pay the current support and the arrearage, first off under the circumstances, you want to file for a child support modification, but that’s a separate video. But what to do if your driver’s license is already lost.
Well, what the law allows you to do is you can file for reinstatement after you have paid your current and arrearage payment for three consecutive months, once you pay it for three consecutive months, you want to file for a motion for reinstatement, get that before the judge, request that your driver and privileges be reinstated. You can get out there, maintain employment, continue paying child support going further.
Sometimes there’s disputes on how much is owed. That’s an argument that can be made as well for any of those. You’re probably going to want representation, because it is a serious enough of an issue.
If you’ve got questions about your specific circumstances or want representation on seeking your driving privileges back, you can talk to somebody at my law office. Go to makelaweasy.com for that.
