Child support can be a difficult issue for co-parents. The paying parent may feel it bears too much of a burden, and the receiving parent often feels they do not receive enough financial help.
However, feelings do not really matter in this scenario. Children have a right to share in their parents’ earnings, and when a court orders child support, the parent has a legal obligation to pay it.
When your ex doesn’t make their child support payments, you have several options. Speak with a family law attorney to ensure you understand the alternatives and choose the right course for you.
Options to Get the Support You Are Owed
Whenever there is a dispute between co-parents, communication is critical. If you are in contact with your co-parent and can work with them productively, reaching out to discuss the late support is the best first step. However, don’t allow them to persuade you to accept less than you are owed or to keep waiting for payment.
If you can’t speak to your co-parent or if a conversation does not resolve the problem, the Georgia Division of Child Support Services provides enforcement of child support orders to all Georgia families. However, if you have questions, it can be difficult to reach a person, and enforcement action might be slow.
Working with our family law team is the option likely to produce the quickest results. We can file a petition in court seeking a contempt order and requesting enforcement of the child support order.
How Courts Can Enforce Child Support Orders
Child support orders are enforceable court orders, and judges take non-compliance seriously. When you bring a petition seeking enforcement, courts usually schedule a hearing as quickly as the court’s docket allows.
The Georgia family courts can take several steps when an attorney can prove the paying parent is delinquent in their child support obligation. A judge could suspend the parent’s driver’s or professional licenses, garnish their wages, and attach their tax refund. In addition to ordering the parent to make good on overdue payments, the judge could order the co-parent to pay a fine, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
When a parent has substantial arrears without a reasonable excuse, a judge could send them to jail. However, if financial hardship prevents a parent from complying with the child support order, the judge has the discretion to be lenient. In rare cases, the judge could approve modifying the child support order to reflect a parent’s inability to pay.
Self-Help Is Unwise
If your ex has not been paying child support as agreed, you might be tempted to take matters into your own hands. Sometimes, parents refuse to make children available for scheduled visits until the child support is paid.
This is a bad strategy for several reasons. Most importantly, it unfairly puts the children in the middle of a dispute that is not their fault or their responsibility. It also denies the children their right to spend time with both their parents. When you deprive children of their rights, you are not acting in their best interests, even when you have good intentions.
Failing to comply with court-ordered visitation to force your co-parent to comply with a different court order does not help your cause. The best move is to consult a family law specialist and take appropriate legal action to get the child support you are owed.
Contact a Family Law Attorney to Get the Support You Are Owed
Your children have a right to the financial support of both their parents. When your co-parent is not meeting their obligation, you should take action.
Contact a member of our family law team for help. We can work quickly to get you the money you are owed. Reach out today.
