Joanna Maria Veloz

In Florida child support cases it is required that both parties provide certain financial documents and do so within a certain amount of time, however the non-custodial parent in this case, only provided a single W-2 on the day of the hearing and nothing else (no income tax returns, no bank statement...s, no paystubs, etc.), was given credit for child support that he did not pay, and was allowed to claim the dependent child in odd number years so long as he is current in his child support (which is not allowed according to IRS Publication 501, pg. 13) without any objection from Ms. Veloz. Furthermore, according to Mandatory Disclosure I must receive a copy of the documents that is provided by the Respondent in the case, unfortunately that did not take place - he received everything I provided and I received nothing. Instead of being penalized for his non-compliance, the Respondent was rewarded by being given a 5% downward deviation from the child support guidelines, again without any objection from Ms. Veloz. During the hearing when I told her that I didn't understand, she just said that she'd explain it to me later (of course she never did). I asked to speak with the attorney several times before the hearing took place, but according to Ms. Veloz, because she handles so many cases, she does not have time to speak with everyone, however, she somehow found the time to speak with the Respondent's attorney. I was told that I would be represented by someone else, so I'd never heard of her. I did not know her name, so I could not contact her to voice my concerns about her actions in court and every time I would contact the child support office they would give me the name of the attorney that was supposed to be handling the case, not her. I was told to fax my concerns to the "Legal Department" and the attorney would get back to me. By the time she got around to contacting me, the time for me to for ask for a rehearing had expired. She then advised me to contact the Self Help Program. When I contacted the Self Help Program I was informed that they could not help me because I already had an attorney. She refused to even try to resolve the numerous issues that I have brought to her attention. I do not live in Florida and cannot afford an attorney so obtaining legal aid is not an option because I am not a resident of the state. In my case, Ms. Veloz did more harm that good. I would suggest to anyone that has Ms. Veloz appointed to represent them, to try to get someone else. If that's not possible, know your rights and don't be afraid to speak up during the hearing even if it causes a delay.