Divorce settlements get further complicated when there are minor children involved. Custody battles and child support agreements are often accompanied by higher levels of stress than other divorce proceedings. When the child support is inconsistent, especially when it is heavily depended on, action must be taken to secure reliable payment schedules from the noncustodial parent. Hire a family lawyer to discuss your options in pursuing child support payment enforcement.
Significance of Timely Child Support Payments
Often, the proper care and essential items like food, shelter and clothing are dependent on the timely payment of child support by the noncustodial parent. Child care can become expensive for a single parent, because it includes the list above as well as school supplies, medical care and extracurricular activities for the child or children. Sadly, evading child support payments is not uncommon and parents can have serious consequences for making late, inconsistent, or no payments. The child may be adversely affected as well, especially if they rely on those payments.
How Can a Child Support Order be Enforced?
There are numerous methods to assure a delinquent parent pays their past due child support obligations. First, the custodial parent must file a complaint and prove that they did not receive the child support payments they were owed. Then the court enforces compliance through one or more of the following methods:
- Wage Garnishment: The court, or the court-hired agency will collect payment by from the delinquent parent’s paycheck.
- Tax Benefit or Refund Interception: Payments can be collected by taking from the parent’s government tax refund or social security checks if they are behind or inconsistent with their support obligations.
- Liens and Attachments: A lien can be placed on real estate and/or personal property like bank accounts and retirement funds in order to fulfill the parent’s back child support.
- Credit Bureau Reporting: The credit score of a delinquent parent could be affected by the back child support payments because the agency can report this information to credit and consumer report companies.
- License Suspension and Passport Denial: Failure to comply with child support orders may result in the suspension of your license or restriction of your passport (if the report is sent to the department of state) to ensure you do not try to flee your obligations.
- Jail Time: Jail time may be the ultimate outcome if a parent manages to still avoid paying court-ordered obligations even after other measures have been taken to enforce compliance.
If you are a custodial parent that is having problems collecting child support from the other parent, then you may be set up to file a complaint against them for failure to complete court ordered payments. Contact a family lawyer with experience such as the child custody lawyer Phoenix AZ locals turn to in child support collection. It should be a smooth transaction each time to take care of your child, but if your ex is making it difficult, you may need the court’s help in collecting the money necessary to care for your child properly. Don’t wait, call today!
Thanks to authors at Hildebrand Law office for their insight into Family Law.
