Retired Green Beret’s Pension Garnished for Child Support – for a Child That is Not His | Janet Langjahr's Florida Divorce * Child Custody * Domestic Violence Law

Colorado Husband and Wife are divorcing.

Fifty-seven year old Husband is a retired Green Beret with twenty-one years of military service to his credit. He lives on his military pension.

In the divorce, Wife sought child support for her five year old son (Child).

The DNA of Husband and Child were tested to determine paternity.

The DNA test ruled Husband out as Child’s biological father.

Husband introduced that evidence in the divorce case.

And the Colorado divorce court held that Child was not Husband’s child and therefore Husband was not responsible for child support. The divorce decree states that there were no children of the marriage.

Despite that, Wife apparently somehow managed to get the United States Veterans Administration (VA) to garnish a substantial portion of Husband’s pension for child support.

Husband’s numerous phone calls AND submission of copies of the DNA test and divorce decree to the VA over a four month period did not deter the VA one bit though.

Finally, at his wit’s end, Husband contacted his local TV news station’s co-called Problem Solvers consumer watchdog team.

Luckily, the VA relented within a day of that.

This case is different from a far more common – and problematic – scenario where the presumed father doesn’t obtain a DNA test disproving his paternity until long after a court has already recognized him as the legal father of a child.

Here, Husband was on the ball and did everything exactly right.

The basis, if any, for the VA’s garnishment of Husband’s pension is not known.

But, by all accounts, Wife was clearly determined not to let the divorce court stand in the way of her collecting money from Husband.