As a child support debtor who is in arrears and cannot renew my passport I often feel left out of the bankruptcy relief game. Paying for a child's care makes no sense if the custodial parent is dominant, criminal but not prosecuted, and has essentially adopted the child illegally. That is my situation. I pay debt to the bad, dominant parent.

Since my debt accrued almost exclusively during a period of total denial of visitation I feel debt relief should be an option for child support debtors like myself. Depression and inconsistent employment are the culprits that prevented payment. My son's mother has never struggled since the support order was made and I have never prospered. That I continue to pay her after eviction and an adult life with no positive net worth is outrageous. My son's mother travels to Europe in the high season and dresses like a fashion model. Whatever her net worth or income she spends like a millionaire. Her expenses are paid for by a stepfather hostile to the father's relationship with his son. This meddling stepfather told this father to get a lawyer if he wanted to see his son again.

Offers in Compromise for child support arrears should be accepted without the consent of the custodial parent. For the custodial parent is often the enemy of the child; in my case the child was denied access to his natural father without any crimes committed by the father. Is there any legislation in the works for offers in compromise without consent from the adversarial parent? If anything, I should receive relief from penalties in addition to interest charged on the debt.

Passport renewal denial is a penalty that is extreme for a debtor. But for a child support debtor they think its 'Okay.' As my son has emancipated, I am now paying what should be called 'former child support.' This term better indicates the lack of a risk to a child when payments are not made. Since the hot button child welfare issue which leads legislators to extreme measures to collect debt is no longer relevant upon the child's emancipation, there should be no penalty for child support debt other than interest.

These penalties levied upon me make me feel like a fourth class American. If Offers in Compromise could be approved by a judge instead of my son's mother, I could be a debt-free passport holder upon walking out the door of the court. For that day I dream.