Child support is a legal means of enforcing a parent’s ethical responsibility to their children. When parents do not live together to raise their children, the courts can order one parent to provide financial support.
The bigger the gap between the incomes of the parents and the larger the discrepancy in allocated parenting time, the more support one parent may need to pay the other. Unfortunately, the people paying child support may grow to resent that obligation. The recipient parent may need to ask the courts for child support enforcement.
What happens during efforts to enforce child support?
The courts have many enforcement tools at their disposal
Family court judges can take numerous different steps to enforce a child support order. They can garnish a professional’s wages. They can act to intercept income tax returns. Most forms of income and personal property are vulnerable to child support enforcement actions.
The courts can also take steps intended to put pressure on the non-paying parent. Refusing to issue or renew a driver’s license could compel a parent to comply. They could also be at risk of losing recreational and professional licensing. The state can even refuse to issue or renew a passport if necessary.
In particularly egregious cases, the courts can issue warrants based on contempt of court. Non-paying parents may spend time in jail and may risk additional penalties if they continue to refuse to pay what they owe.
Initiating child support enforcement proceedings can help parents obtain the financial support they need to give their children everything they deserve. Recipient parents may need help as they try to navigate a contentious child support matter, and that’s okay.