Raising children requires a lot of financial support. The price of shelter, attire, transportation, schooling, extracurriculars, other things costs a little over 220,000 dollars for an infant to 18 years old. After divorcing your spouse, dividing households, and potentially having more children, the finances can really stack up against paying child support. Most care greatly for their child, but paying that monthly cost can easily take a lot out of your earnings. Suddenly skipping these payments or under-paying can become appealing. The results probably won’t be worth it though as intentional avoiders of child support payment face intense repercussions.
Any order given by a court is obligatory, regardless of the kind. A parental guardian who is due child support money is able to enact whatever legality necessary to implement the order.
Every state has it’s own regulations on child support payment. The ACF makes it mandatory on the federal level, for states to contain a process for wage restraints, license termination, and numerous extra laws to impose child support. Fleeing your state to live in another will only save a brief amount of time before your payments will be expected again.
Effects of ignoring Child Support Dues
Garnishment. Garnishment is a court order directing that money (usually wages paid by an employer) be seized to satisfy a debt owed by a debtor. This means that part of your wage will be withheld from you and given to a plaintiff creditor. If a parent has been told by a court to pay child support and refrains in doing so, their earnings can be garnished and given to their child’s parental guardian. This financial aid is taken straight from your income without you having any prior access.
License Cancellation. Those who dismiss their child support payments also face potential driver’s license terminations. The ability to retrieve a new one in a separate state is not allowed either since a restricted or withdrawn license cannot be replaced in any state.
Credit Bureau Reporting. Child support arrears remain on your credit report for up to seven years unless you make a deal with the child support enforcement agency. States are able to report any negative information about your payments if it comes down to it.
Altering Required Child Support
To legally modify your expected child support, you need to have a court decree to either decrease, temporarily stop, or permanently end your payments. This may occur if your life has undergone a large alteration since originally being told of your amount to pay.
A large alteration can be described as any factor that alters your income or causes a reduction in your child’s need for financial support. A significant adaptation can also be the loss of a career, a cutback in wage, a drastic rise in expense, or persistent disease.
The revealing of a child not biologically being yours may still not be enough reason to discontinue your payments. In a lot of areas, just being the father in a legal sense comes with the requirement of child support. If a certified test of paternity actually shows the truth of you not being the father then some states will allow the change of child support dues. If it is revealed to you that a child is someone else’s then you should set up an appointment with your lawyer in order to determine whether or not your payments can be modified or terminated.
If payments develop into being especially overbearing, you should talk to a divorce attorney to determine your choices, if any, for requirement reductions. Deciding on your own to ignore dues is an extremely bad idea as it negatively affects your child, is a poor reflection of yourself, and a crime.
Farbod Majd Esq.
Divorce Attorney w/ offices in Beverly Hills/Los Angeles
Services in English, Turkish, and Farsi/Persian (Iranian/American Lawyer)
8383 Wilshire Blvd Suite 646, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310.956.4600 | Fax: 310.878.8989 | [email protected]