Huntington Beach man calls child support payments ‘legal extortion’ and wants to reform the law – Orange County Register
Steve Clark pays his ex-wife $1,000 a month in child support. And he may have to keep doing so for a long time.
“This is legal blackmail,” he complained.
So the Huntington Beach resident is at it again — looking for enough signatures to put his complaint on California's 2020 ballot. To reach that goal, Clark needs to find 623,212 registered voters by February 3.
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As Clark learned in his 2015 attempt, it's difficult to get the attention of 5% of California voters – especially on an issue as sensitive as child support reform. In that attempt, he failed to collect enough signatures to pass.
“Men are hesitant to stop at our booth and sign the petition when their wives are with them, but some have turned around and given a 'thumbs up,'” he said.
The initiative, titled “Elimination of Indefinite Alimony,” would limit alimony payments to a maximum of five years. Current California law allows for alimony payments in marriages of 10 years or more to continue indefinitely until a judge rules otherwise.
Clark plans to deploy paid poll workers in shopping malls across the state – a strategy that would cost millions. “I'm hoping to get the attention of a billionaire who is unhappy with high alimony payments,” he said.
The mission began with the breakdown of his 24-year marriage. Clark's then-wife, Cindy, filed for divorce, but the decision was mutual, he said.
“We are not full of animosity,” Clark said. “Our only point of contention is maintenance.”
After the divorce became final in 2013, Clark paid child support for a while until his daughter Lea turned 18. That was never an issue, he assured. He can't stand writing checks to his ex.
Cindy Clark was not available for comment. The couple's daughter said she is very close to both parents and is “neutral” about her father's fight against child support payments.
“I give my dad credit for trying to change something he doesn't agree with instead of just complaining,” said Lea Clark, 23, a clinical assistant from Boise, Idaho. “I try to stay out of the loop on this issue. Every case is different depending on the circumstances.”
Clark, 58, an aerospace engineer and consultant, bought his ex-wife out of their luxury home, where mostly bare walls and bare countertops underscore his alleged intolerance of clutter.
Clark's ex-wife works as a dental hygienist, a job she did part-time while her daughter was growing up.
“That was their decision,” Clark said, calling the Mommy Track an “investment decision.”
“But now she's back to working full time and has the opportunity to earn $100,000 a year,” he added.
Clark declined to disclose his own annual income.
The maintenance payment was “a relic of the 1950s,” Clark claimed, when fewer women worked outside the home. “It made sense then because the government didn't want women on welfare,” he said.
Since more women are employed today, Clark says, the amount of maintenance varies in both directions – depending on who earns more.
“Imagine if your husband cheated on you and you had to pay him child support,” he said. “That would be insulting.”
On his website, calalimonyreform.org, Clark lists the five “principles” of his cause. These include: “Every physically and mentally able person over the age of 18 must be expected to support himself” and “People must be held accountable for their own investment decisions.”
Dana Heyde, a family lawyer based in Orange, agreed that alimony “should not be viewed as a type of pension payment” that remains unchanged forever.
“It's not like winning the lottery,” said Heyde. “You don't get alimony just because you've put up with your spouse all these years.”
However, she added that maintenance serves an important purpose and “should not be determined by an arbitrary time limit”.
“You can now go to court at any time and request a change in your maintenance payments,” said Heyde. “Maintenance is based on need on the one hand and ability to pay on the other.”
For example, if the person receiving alimony gets a better-paying job or the person paying alimony loses their job, a judge could order a reduction or termination of alimony payments, she said.
“Maintenance is about creating equal conditions so that people can get back on their feet,” said Heyde.
And childcare still falls disproportionately to women – those who are most likely to reduce their working hours, as Heyde noted.
“I've heard many men say, 'She decided to put her career on hold to raise the kids,'” Heyde said. “Well, he benefited from that too. The kids' extracurricular activities and doctor's appointments are also the father's responsibility.”
Clark is not convinced by such arguments and considers maintenance payments as “welfare”.
“I finance my ex-wife's weekends,” he said. “Nobody could explain to me how that made sense.”
Originally published: August 28, 2019 at 8:35 am
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