BANGOR, Maine — A Massachusetts man who owes more than $50,000 in child support made his first appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Dennis E. Allain, 45, of Worcester, Mass., is charged with failure to pay child support obligations.
He was released on $5,000 unsecured bond.
Allain is not expected to enter a plea to the charge until after he has been indicted by a federal grand jury. When the grand jury convenes is secret.
The complaint against Allain was filed in federal court in July and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Those documents were sealed until he was arrested Thursday in Worcester. The circumstances surrounding his apprehension were not outlined in court documents.
Allain was ordered to pay child support to the mother of his son, who was born in November 1995, following a 1997 paternity hearing in Bangor District Court, according to the complaint filed in federal court. Allain paid a total of $461.
Allain and the child’s mother never married, the complaint said. She and the boy, now 16, live in Old Town.
The last time Allain made a payment was in March 1998, the complaint said. That payment was for $19. As of Oct. 17, 2011, Allain owed $57,641 in child support.
Repaying that money may prove difficult for Allain, according to the income he reported in the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service for the years since he was ordered to pay child support. Allain’s income between 1997 and 2009 ranged from no income in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 to a high of $6,735. In the two years before his being ordered to pay child support, Allain earned $16,437 and $17,298, respectively.
They have what income he reported to Mass & the IRS. What has his lifestyle been? Supported on the income he has reported?
Where did the money for the $5,000 bond come from?
He didn’t need any money it was an unsecured bond. An unsecured bond requires no upfront money.
Good luck, trying to get money from someone like this is like getting blood out of a turnip.
Obviously he worked under the table after being ordered to pay support..
I think so, too. Sadly, there is not strong enforcement of child support payment in this state. It’s been nearly sixteen years and just now he’s being arrested for non-payment? Come on.
its because the state does not keep track of all this. If a parent isn’t paying then its up to the parent not getting money to call the state and go after them. Some people are either too lazy or they don’t care because they get their kids 100 percent of the time and by going after support then the paying parent can also seek some custody rights so for some parents flying under the radar is better.
He must of been working a lot of odd jobs/under the table. I’ve heard of people owing a LOT more than this guy. I mean.. I pay child support too. The little bit that the state gives mothers is not nearly enough. If you wanna have a child with somebody, prepare to pick up the tab. Period.
I pay 480.00 dollars a month for one child which is not a small sum of money. That is 5760.00 dollars a year that goes to my ex-wife. I’m going to feel rich when my daughter turns 18 in a few years.
Hate to burst your bubble Kevin, but kids still cost a lot after they turn eighteen! I have grown children and still lend money, give money, help with grandkids etc. They don’t ask, I just like to help when/if I can and it makes me happy to do things for my grandkids.
true but at least if he helps out after age 18 he knows its going to his child for sure.
I didn’t think I had to state the obvious in my post.
You didn’t need too!I commend you for the loyalty you have in paying.
You’re apparently a good parent/grandparent. Wish all kids had someone like you to grow up with. And I agree, it does feel good to help people out, just dont let them make it a habbit. God bless you though! =)
You don’t think your daughter deserves it?
Where did I ever state I should not have to pay child support?
You didn’t state that at all, but you did state this: “That is 5760.00 dollars a year that goes to my ex-wife.”
Your ex-wife?
Sorry Kevin, but while I applaud that you’re actually doing what’s right and paying your share to bring up your daughter, have you gone grocery shopping lately? $480 is pretty reasonable if you ask me.
Figuring that kids like to eat, shower, have miscellaneous expenses like lunch money and for school activities, and unless your ex-wife rides the bus (in which case she still has to pay for a pass) or you do all of the chauffering, then gas expenses at $3.60 a gallon and vehicle maintenance, as well as unplanned expenses such as co-pays for doctor appointments, all add up.
Congratulations though. At least you’re meeting the obligation you have, unlike this guy who, unless he is living under a bridge somewhere, is likely making a WHOLE LOT more than he’s claiming to make. Funny, I’m just waiting for the “she should’ve kept her legs closed” blamers to come out in full force. Usually the blame is not particularly equal when it comes to children.
I wonder if his kid’s mother qualifies for the food stamps and MaineCare we all seem to like to complain about on here? Hmmmm.
While Kevin is usually very level headed guy, I understand your objection to his “to my wife” remark.
I want to thank you for such a well reasoned, nonemotional reply to him .I couldn’t have said it better.
but is it the man’s job to 100 percent support the child? Should the mother contribute?
Your comment sounded as if you will be glad when she turns 18, and you will feel rich, and you don’t have to pay support anymore. Do you not intend to give her anything more after she turns 18? There is still college if she wishes to go. If I misinterpreted your comment I apologize.
Of course I intend to help her out but I will be helping her, not my ex-wife. I don’t have control over how my ex-wife spends the money. As for college a fund has been in place for years and she is going to apply for scholarships too. She wants to be a doctor so I won’t be able to pay for all her schooling.
Not if your kid goes to college, you will be paying the mother the whole time and the child support can be upped for cost of living raise.
I worked for the Division of Child Support and Enforcement for many years with the State of Maine. I can count on 1 hand the number or child support orders that said the other parent had to pay thru college, and they were not Maine orders they were from other states.
Don’t know what to tell you . My father in law got hauled in 1 year or
so after his child turned 18 and had been out of high school for about
a year or so made to give the mother child support and pay for college
and he wasn’t well to do by any means. His kid wasn’t even living with the
mother and got married while in school. Cost 25 k in the end and
that was right here in Maine. Luckily it was a one year course.
Scroll all the way down to “Maine.” I don’t have time to go through the official manual of DHHS, but unless it’s changed recently, that’s illegal.
The obligation goes away when the child either marries or joins the military. I think it would be a stretch for a lawyer to weedle their way into a college exception, but there’s probably a loophole somewhere. http://www.squidoo.com/ChildSupportWhenDoesItEnd
Yes. I know that some States require support payments to continue from the responsible one as long as the child stays in a 4 year post high school scholastic endeavor, regardless of any agreed or divorce decree for tuition payments.
That’s insane. Glad that’s not the case in Maine. Why should the mother get money while the kid is away at college? Both parents can contribute what they can when its needed to a college aged kid. Again though that is where the guidelines are messed up this money is not supposed to be for the mother but if she’s still collecting when the kids are off at college the state would certainly have you feeling like child support is really for the use of the mother.
Yes it’s suppose to be for the kids. However the big tax deduction
people get for having kids is for the kids, not for the parents
vacation, new car, big tv’s etc. Should got to their health, current
education or college education
well I suppose at least both parents paid in and supported the kids throughout the year. I have known single moms who get a lot in support and then make out very well on taxes. I can see how that would be frustrating. I just really would like to see an overhaul on the system so that the financial strain of raising a child is 50/50. It should never be 80/20 which I see a lot. Why should one parent be struggling so that they can pay the other so much? It doesnt matter with the current formula how much time the kids spends wherever either. I think that odd too. So if you have a mom that refuses to work because she can because the state of maine allows that and she only has the kid for say the weekend then the dad could still end up paying the mother 100.00 a week so that averages out to 50 dollars a day. There cant be one person out there that things for one second that that is ok. I just think that two people had a child and two people need to care for and support that child. As far as your father in law goes he got an unfair deal. Thats awful and thats the kind of thing that I am talking about. If that was the other way around the courts never would have made the mother pay all that. I am a mom but I seriously feel that most of the time the courts and DHS are all out to get the dads and I suppose that because of fathers like this one here in the article. There are plenty of decent men out there that are not getting a fair deal.
Amen to equal support of every kind to the kids
unless the laws have changed then a parent can’t be forced to pay child support or college expenses after the child graduates from high school and has turned 18, that went into effect shortly before my divorce in 1989.
Not positive but I think this happened some
time in the last 10 years. Maybe I
better past this on.
The dad wasn’t behind, bought the daughter
a car or two paid medical plus all the things a dad
would do if the family was together
Medical bills are either divorce decreed or a judgement (in case of an illegitimate child) to be split in whatever percentage.
Anything that the obliged parents gives to the child outside of the required support payments are gifts, having no bearing on the basic payments.
normally the person paying child support also has to pick up the majority of the medical bills too
I only have to pay until my daughter graduates high school and that is it.
I know Kevin it’s a lot to pay, but do you think it’s a lot to receive? Can your ex support the child on that? Clothes, food, toys which get ever more expensive, insurances, etc., etc., etc. Then prom clothes, cars, computers, ipods, phones, etc., etc., etc. It’s no fun on either side of the issue, I think. I’m proud of you (and me) for faithfulness and taking responsibility. Good luck Kevin.
yes it is a lot to receive. If the mother contributes just as much then that’s like almost a grand a month. Now do you think a child costs a grand a month? Again it is not just up to one parent to contribute!
if youre daughter goes to college you’ll be paying til she’s 21!
No I won’t.
You must make good money if not i would go back to court and get it modified . i dont know your situation . just saying . thats alot for one child
what do you mean by the state giving moms money?
I’m pretty sure he worded his sentence improperly.
You’re right, I meant the child support payments. (Which are received by the state) and then dispersed to the mother.
Well the 71 dollars is not ment to be lived on, merely helping to support your child. You are doing your part and I’m sure if your child needed something you would get it for them.that’s what I am talking about though its not just up to the dad. Two people had a child and two people should support the child.
You said it perfectly. Both parents deserve to support the child financially. But diapers and formula aren’t cheap. I remember buying formula and called it “Liquid gold.” Because thats how expensive it is.. haha.
Formula is expensive. Good thing for wic , which generally speaking a single mom will for sure qualify for. Lots of married couples qualify so I’m certain single moms would all get it.
Thats true I guess too.. they give you like.. a few cans of formula, a couple gallons of milk, some cheap bread, and some peanut butter. I mean.. Better to to pay have that than nothing. But to pay out of pocket, it’d be expensive. I dont know why they dont allow fruits and veggies into that program. They got Dairy and grain. Sounds like “Half of the food pyramid” to me.
“But to pay out of pocket, it’d be expensive.”
Out of pocket?Why should anyone else pay for someone elses’s kid any more than make their car payment?
Reminds me of the 30 years of raising our kids:
If ya can’t feed ’em, don’t breed ’em!
By foregoing all the ‘latest and greatest’, it worked for us!
And I remember my Ma telling my sister a # of years ago that she wouldn’t need a two income household if she would just stay at home, nursed instead of Similac (does that formula still exist?), wash your own cloth diapers, and stop buying new strollers, etc. Use the old or borrowed ones (“like I did with the 6 of you!”).
Even today, that advice can still be useful (even though she still came down all the time to ask for Pamper money from our parents. Made me wonder who was being ‘pampered’; my sister or her kids). :)
Sorry for being kind of transparent on this.. when I pay my child support, it goes to the state, and then the state cuts a check. I pay 108 dollars a week, but only 71 dollars goes to the mother, and the rest goes to state reimbursement. I mean really.. who can live on 71 dollars a week? I wish I could pay more.. but its hard when you cant stand to see the sight of that other person. At least I pay my child support unlike the dude in this article. Might as well go ahead and pay it, cause its not gunna go away.
i would love to see this happen to the fathers of my three boys, but will unlikely happen due to they both live in canada. one actually took off to Alberta to get out of his obligations and i have no information or way of contact.
Child support guide lines are so messed up. It is not 100% up to either parent to 100% support the child. I really think they need to figure out an amount per year and split it 50/50. If that means a second job for someone then so be it.
If they split the bill they should split the custody.
Why should one parent pay when the other refuses to work with that parent, or give them any time with their own children, brainwash the children, and tell the town and school system things that are not true of the other parent?
If the parent wants most if not all the custody why not pay for what they want? Maybe they would be more willing to share, though I find that is not necessarily the case. Having custody means more.
You also cannot boot someone out on the streets and expect them to miraculously suddenly get a job in this economy. That hurts or adds to the welfare system. Where is the child support going to come from?
If the other parent walks away from the children, rather than be pushed out, that is another matter.
I agree custody should be 50/50 if both parents want that so long as its a safe environment for the child. I just feel like too many good dads get the short end of the stick these days. Yes also just because one parent is not as involved does not mean its by choice. Many exes make it nearly impossible for the other person to maintain a good relationship with the other parent.
they need to revamp the whole child support system. Its abused just as much as the welfare system ,food stamps ect. I as a child support payer would like to know where the money really goes after it reaches my ex wifes mail box. and i also feel if she gets remarried , the fact there is more income coming into her house hold should be taken into concideration. And the whole taking of your licence if you cant pay is stupid , they just make it harder for the guy to find and get to work which makes it harder for the children to get money. Im not saying there aren’t some dead beats out there who just don’t pay cause they dont want to. But there are people out there who want to pay or pay what they can but cant because of health reasons or other things. they need to look into the abuse of this system as well
Do your children have a home to live in?
Heat in that home?
Electricity?
Water?
Food?
Shoes?
Jackets?
I love how people feel they should get a print out of “where the money really goes”
I will guarantee that most child support payments don’t even come close to paying for half of a child’s expenses.
As far as counting a spouses income if they remarry – Why is someone else responsible for supporting your child?
I just think its funny how the state wants a printout of everything you make when your the one paying but not the other way around. You know there are those woman dancing it up at barnabys with there child support money, not saying every woman getting child support but some. and for many the state pays the other half of the expenses . I never said it was anyone elses responsibility to support my child but the fact is there is additional income coming in the household if they get remarried and should be takin into consideration. just like if you were getting welfare and you were single then you got married to a guy who makes 100 grand a year ,pretty sure the state would wanna know about that . Im just saying the child support system is abused as well as the welfare system and alot is overlooked. I think it should be regulated a little better that just someone getting a check in the mail to cash and do whatever they want with.
So if you got married to someone making 100k a year you would have no issues paying more child support then correct?
Well me personally if i had that much coming into my household i would just give them more without the state even knowing because i love my children. But in response to your question i would have know problem with that. I feel it should work both ways because no matter who is responsible for who in the end the children are what matter. they will benefit the most from it. Or i should say they should.
Currently in the great state of Maine it doesn’t matter how much anyone living with you makes. It used to count about 10 years ago but doesn’t now.
totally agree with you! People still need basic things like heat and a roof over their head regardless if they have a child living with them. That is one thing I never have understood. If a mom gets money why should the court think that it goes to her electric bill. If she didn’t have a kid would she go without electricity??? I don’t think so! Basically the system needs to be redone. As the system is currently is is totally acceptable for a mom with kids in school all day to refuse to work therefore making the dad have to pay more money because she contributes 0 but people are saying on here that its not ok for a dad to take a lesser paying job therefore making him pay less child support. Now that sounds like a double standard to me. In my opinion if one parent is paying more then 50% of what the cost of living is for the kid then they should have custody of the kid until the other parent can provide.
Whether divorcing or were never married, family court is to figure out the income of both parents and who has primary custody in determining the $ support payment per the guidelines of the State (of course the guidelines vary between States). Pretty much the nationwide standard. If one says the other is lying about the other’s income/assets, then the divorce lawyer and complainant is responsible to prove it, but the guidelines are there.
currently in the state of Maine it does not matter how much you have a child or who has primary or joint. Its all based on one parents income vs another’s. So if you parent refuses to work you can imagine the amount of money that makes the working parent pay .
She really picked a winner!!!!
What a winner……does anyone else find it rather ironic that this pathetic loser can come up with $5000.00 unsecured bond, yet somehow can’t be bothered to make a child support payment of more than $19.00 since 2011??
I agree with the others. Sounds like someone has been working under the table to avoid paying child support.
What sort of loser does that instead of taking responsibility for his own flesh and blood?
Den, I’m sure you’d be surprised at how many losers do that. My ex’s income dropped 40% when we divorced…. and he’s what some people may call an ‘upstanding professional’. I know otherwise.
Sadly, I don’t think I would be. I know several single parents whose X won’t cough up.
I just don’t understand it.
again it goes both ways. I know women who stopped working just to get more child support. Is that ok though since its not the man??
So he had ZERO income for four years……REALLY?? Where did he live? How did he eat? Why did he have zero income? Is he getting assistance from Massachusetts? Because if he isn’t getting some sort of assistance or disability (whatever) I’m going to hazard to guess HE’S LYING about his income or lack there of or he wouldn’t have survived. Under the table it is.
Somewhere on here recently, I got a reply on a similar story. Seems her ex had his money +/- hidden in a camp in his brother’s name and some property in Canada (maybe even an address in Canada). It’s disgusting that some losers won’t support their responsibilities.
I know plenty of women who have gone without working for that long and still live. Its called child support and the state.
Sounds like he was working “under the table” and had unreported income. Maybe the IRS should go after him as well. There are thousands of people who will work for cash to avoid paying child support or other debts they have.
I’m thinking that the man didn’t have a choice to abort the unborn flesh and could have saved himself all this trouble…
So it is her responsibility to pay and raise the child herself. because he wasn’t given the choice on having a child or not.
There you go pro choice supporters, shouldn’t have it both ways
He had a choice – he could have kept it in his pants. He didn’t.
Exactly. Men need to be more responsible in how they use that second brain of theirs.
Several assumptions built in to that comment.
Its about time they start cracking down on these guys that pay nothing. Im a child support payer and it gets hard sometimes between lay offs i have had and health problems . I had a heart attack at 3 years ago at age 38 and couldnt work, the state was always threating to take my licence and other things. guys like this get to walk around for years not paying a dime , guys like me who really try to pay get harassed for money. just isn’t right.
in my experience they don’t start harassing unless two thing occur 1 someone is far like thousands of dollars behind or 2 the one receiving the money is calling the state making a huge issue out of it. That info is straight from DHS. My guess is that your ex was throwing a fit. I don’t think that’s right especially if she knew about your current medical status :-( if you always have paid she should have backed off til you were better. Its called being decent and too many people are not decent these days.