Any parent can tell you that raising a child can be exorbitantly expensive. Paying for the child’s clothes, shelter, and food alone is costly, but children also require childcare, schooling, and typically desire to participate in extracurricular activities, which all come with their own expenses. When a relationship or marriage ends, the court will make a custody or visitation decision based on what is in the child’s best interest. The court will also make an order for child support. Child support is often an essential financial component of making sure the child’s needs are adequately met. Unfortunately, in all too many cases, the paying parent will stop paying child support without a court order. If this has happened in your case, you may be wondering what you should do next.
One possible step that may gain traction is to simply have your attorney send a letter to the parent who has stopped paying. Having a strongly-worded letter informing the disobedient spouse about the potentially serious repercussions that could result in the spouse bringing his or her obligation back up to date.
If informing the paying spouse of the repercussions of failure to live up to the order’s requirements fails to produce compliance, your next step could be to file a motion to have the parent found in contempt. If a parent is found to have willfully failed to have lived up to the court’s child support order, he or she can be punished by the court’s contempt powers. These powers include revoking a parent’s driver’s license, garnishing wages, garnishing tax returns, or even incarcerating the parent. A court can also put other enforcement measures in place. One of the most common ways that a court will employ its powers to enforce its order is to enter a wage garnishment order. This type of order will mean that the child support payments will be deducted directly from the paying parent’s paycheck, thereby making it impossible for a paying parent to refuse or otherwise fail to pay.
An essential thing to remember is that a paying parent’s failure to pay child support does not mean that the custodial parent can curtail visitation until proper payments are restored. A custodial parent’s responsibility to allow the paying parent to see the child is almost never dependent on his or her proper payment of child support.
If you have questions about your rights and responsibilities as a parent, call us today. We can help you understand your order and the law.
Are you interested in seeking an annulment? If so, contact Williams Law Group, LLC right away. Our family law attorneys will review your case to determine if an annulment is an option. If it is, we will guide you through the process and ensure you make the best decisions for your future. Call our office at (908) 738-8512, email us atinfo@awilliamslawgroup.com, or contact us through our confidential online form to schedule a consultation
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