(Vanity) How do I pick a lawyer?

I've started getting these threatening letters from Los Angeles County saying I owe child support to some lady there I've never heard of. They're threatening to garnish my wages, put a lien on my house, etc.

I have no idea who this lady is. I haven't lived in California since 1984. I've live in Virgina now and have been faithfully married since 1991. The children in question were born in 1993 and 1997.

I've never had to hire a lawyer before. What kind of lawyer do you get for a case like this? Do I get a Virginia lawyer or a California lawyer?

I can't tell you how to pick a good attorney who lives in a different state -- I would normally look to acquaintances for a referral, but that obviously isn't an option here.

Perhaps starting another thread asking for a good family attorney in the L.A. area might cough up something. Dunno.

What I can tell you, is that you will likely need one. When I was living in California, a girl I had once dated named me as the father of a kid she'd had. To make a long story short, it was remotely possible that was true, but only very remotely.

The first thing I knew about this was when the company where I worked received a garnishment order. There was no prior discussion or inquiry. Nobody ever even asked me one word about anything.

I went down to the agency that had issued the order (I can't recall at the moment what it's called), and tried to talk to someone. Like, is there any proof that I'm the father of this kid? What recourse do I have here?

I was treated essentially like I was a convicted criminal. A caseworker finally came out into the lobby and "talked" to me, but she refused to give me any information about anything.

California seems to assume that if a male is named as the father, then then male *is* the father. They proceed under that assumption, and they proceed very aggressively.

Suffice it to say, I think you will need an attorny. You will almost certainly get no help at all by trying to deal directly with the agency. Somebody needs to file something in a court, and they better do it soon.

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