Opinion ID: 1254576
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Griffis

Text: Three children had been born of the marriage of James and Pamela Griffis by the time they divorced in June of 1979. At the time of the divorce, the three children were approximately eleven, four-and-one-half, and two-and-one-half years old. The divorce decree granted custody of the three minor children to Pamela Griffis and ordered James Griffis to pay child support in the amount of $166 per child, per month, for a total monthly support amount of $498. James failed to make any of the ordered child support payments. Pamela received assistance from Aid to Families with Dependent Children [hereinafter AFDC] for the months of June and July, 1979. In June, 1980, the couple remarried. By this time, James was in arrears on his child support obligation in the amount of $6,141.13. [1] Upon the remarriage of the couple, the Boone County office of the Child Support Enforcement Division [hereinafter CSED] [2] ceased calculating James' child support obligation. In addition to the child support arrearages, James owed the State $498 for the aforementioned AFDC benefits. Thereafter, in February 1981, the couple divorced a second time. Custody of the minor children was again awarded to Pamela. James was ordered to pay child support in the amount of $167 per child, per month, for a total monthly support amount of $501. Once again, James failed to make any child support payments. Pamela received AFDC benefits from June, 1982, through February, 1984. In May, 1984, the couple married a third time. The amount of child support that had accrued, but was not paid by James, between the couple's second divorce and third marriage was $19,630.87. James also owed the State $4,482 for the AFDC benefits Pamela received between June, 1982, and February, 1984. At some point, proceedings directed toward a third divorce were initiated. However, the action was dismissed due to the couple's reconciliation. James and Pamela remain legally married. CSED records indicate that James currently owes Pamela a total of $61,741.90 in child support arrears and owes the State a total of $581.83 for AFDC benefits paid to Pamela. [3]