“Florida Child Support will pay the legal fees of the custodial parent for a $25 fee.”
That’s a good point. Every state I believe has a child support collections unit that will collect support for women for little or no fee. They really don’t have to pay anything up front except maybe sometimes a $25 fee. These government child support agencies have enormous power. They can really make life hell for people, and they screw up all the time and no one punishes them for it. I know, I worked as an attorney for one for a while. I was the prosecuting these cases, both in civil and criminal court.
Washington state conditions for using the state are that the custodial parent either has to be on government support OR the other parent has to be behind by a certain amount (I think 2 months). My ex was 6 months behind, so the state handles it now. They are actually very weak and even when he gets behind (like when he was on fully paid disability for a couple of months but his pay came from somewhere else), they would only take out an extra $40 a month for over a year to get him caught up. I think it eliminates fighting and problems. If I had to get money directly from ex, it would be a hassle every month, and I am sure I wouldn't get it consistently. Additionally, when they gave me money for something else once (an agreed-upon educational expense), they bounced a check and did a number on my account.
Actually, that just changed. Many states are now charging them $25/year for their services.