Child Support

Regarding your article, “Company Will Track Down Child-Support Delinquents,” (June 11) please be advised that there are at least four law offices in San Diego that collect child support for a contingency fee. The contingency rate that attorneys charge must be negotiable pursuant to the Business and Professions Code. Flat rates or hourly rates also may be offered.

There are several important advantages gained by using an attorney to help you collect if you are dissatisfied with the district attorney. An attorney can recover the cost of enforcement pursuant to Civil Code Section 4307. Thus the client may end up paying little or no attorney’s fees. Further, attorneys are accountable if they mishandle the case.

Finally, there is a complex legislative scheme offering a wide range of enforcement tools available to collect child or spousal support. These cases go on for many years. It is naive to think that you can simply call the obligor up and solve the problem effectively for the long range. It is much better to use the available legal actions.

I strongly urge anyone who needs collection help to contact an expert, either a private attorney who specializes in support collection, or the district attorney.

GARY HARRISON, Attorney at Law, San Diego