Last Chance... Blown

A little over a week after I posted this blog post, I got a message from my family law attorney. MB sent me a copy of an email MG sent him (in which he claims to have spoken to his own attorney -- not sure I believe that -- and again stating his is willing to "finalize the paper signing" at MB's office, but wants the Satisfaction to be "backdated to include the amount the state of Oregon has withheld from my 2013 Tax return and immediately stop any pending action against my Oregon drivers license...", along with a quick note: "I am not sure what email & follow up he is talking about. But what he wants is the back child support satisfied as well as the Judgment as far as I can tell. Call me."

If you'll remember, we originally asked him in MARCH to sign the consent & allow the adoption to happen. Had he signed then, the adoption would have been finalized by the courts by the end of JUNE. Had he signed the consent when I asked, I would not have had a reason to ask C.S. to do anything and I would not have started collections on the attorney's fees judgments. I told him over & over that in return for his signature & follow through, I would release him of all monies (arrears, current, interest, and going forward from the date of the adoption) owed. At this point, I don't feel he has any negotiation power.

My conversation with him said as much. I also shared my extreme frustration about the whole situation, reminding him of every opportunity & warning we've given MG about my intent to start collections... and now, MONTHS later, he's still dangling the carrot; saying "I'll sign if..." So, I had MB send MG one last email regarding this matter. In it, we stated that if he does in fact sign (we actually gave MG a date of August 1st, last Friday, at 4pm to get the signed consent to RP's office) & allow the adoption, I will halt the collections on the attorney judgments. However, the actions of the child support division (garnishing tax refunds, suspending his license, etc) will not halt until they are given a court order (a copy of the signed Satisfaction Judgment, once it's been entered into court, after the adoption is final) to do so.

I did not receive a call, nor an email message, from RP (nor her paralegal, as RP is out of the office for a few weeks), so at 5p, an hour after the deadline, I called. There was no answer, so I left a voicemail for the paralegal to call me back Monday to let me know if it came in or not. I'm assuming not, but I won't know for sure until I hear from her.

So, an open letter to MG -- "I don't believe you have any intention of ever signing the consent form, nor do I believe you'll actually allow the adoption to happen. If you did, you'd have signed already. I have been more than fair in this matter and am done with your antics. You're doing nothing but delaying the inevitable, and pissing off Princess. I'm not stopping any collections. I'm not giving you the 2013 garnishment back. I'm not calling off the collections agent. If, and only if, the signed consent eventually gets to RP's office AND YOU FOLLOW THROUGH ON ALLOWING THE ADOPTION TO HAPPEN, will all collections proceedings stop and you'll get your license back. All money I collect between now & then is mine to keep."