The presence of children adds more stress the already difficult process of divorce. Child support payments are extremely helpful but if you are reliant on them, they can also add more stress when you don?t know when they will arrive. The longer the custody battle lasts, the longer it can take for you to receive the support.
Child Support Payments Are for the Child
It is expensive to care for another human being; a younger child requires food, medical care, clothing AND school supplies, plus much more. Child support is supposed to stave off those expenses specifically, anything that helps the child’s quality of life. This is extremely helpful for the parent who has custody, especially if it is full custody. Sometimes, a parent may fall behind or refuse to pay child support to the custodial parent. If this is happening to you, you have some ways to combat it. A lawyer can go over all these options with you in detail.
Enforcing Court-Ordered Child Support
There are agencies dedicated to collecting unpaid child support. They use a few methods of collection such as:
- Revoking driving privileges. Driving privileges can be revoked if someone fails to pay child support, however, an ex must get to work in order to pay for that support, so this isn’t always the best method to employ first, if at all.
- Jail time. A court could order a jail sentence if payments are severely backed up.
- Wage Garnishment. Wages can be taken from your ex should they fail to make the payments on their own. However, if they change jobs frequently or is self-employed, this can be rather difficult.
- Tax refund. You can actually arrange your ex’s tax return to be sent to your home provided you consult a family lawyer to help you with the process. They can figure out if this is possible or if you have to take another avenue.
Your child deserves to live comfortably and be able to afford the basics like food, school supplies, clothing and other necessary items. There are ways to combat avoidance of child support payments. First step: contact a family or divorce lawyer and examine your options. Having an attorney by your side is your strongest chance of winning that money for your child. Child support is always meant to sustain your children, and it is in the child’s best interest when a parent completes these payments on time. DO not forget that there are always different rules on how to go about this, so it is imperative you hire a lawyer with experience in alimony and child support evasion such as the child custody lawyer Phoenix AZ locals trust.
Thanks to authors at The Hildebrand Law Office for their insight into Family Law.
