While non-custodial parents are ordered by the court to pay child support, many of them refuse to pay anything to the other parent. However, there are several options available to custodial parents to enforce court-ordered child support.
The following are four steps you should take if your ex-spouse is not paying child support:
Gather evidence of non-payments – The first step is to maintain a record that shows continuous non-payment by the other parent. If your ex-spouse pays by check, direct deposit, or money order, simply access your bank account online and download your monthly statements to prove that the other parent has failed to make monthly payments.
Speak with the other parent – Instead of bringing your case to court immediately, start with having a conversation with your ex-spouse. Perhaps, for instance, he/she recently lost his/her job, suffered a serious injury that has resulted in costly medical bills, or experienced a significant change in circumstances that greatly impacted his/her finances. If this is the case, you may want to make a short-term arrangement or modify the child support order in court. While this may result in a lower payment, at least you will be paid some amount, rather than nothing at all.
Contact your local child support enforcement agency – If your ex-spouse continues to withhold child support or refusing to speak with you, then you may have to ask your local child support enforcement agency for assistance. An enforcement agency can collect past-due payments by issuing a garnishment request to the other parent’s employer, seize property, intercept your ex-spouse's federal tax refund, or suspend his/her driver’s license until repayments have been made.
Go to court – You – and your lawyer – can also ask the court to enforce the child support order or hold your ex-spouse in contempt of court. The court will schedule a hearing and you are required to prove your case. If a judge orders your ex-spouse to comply, they will be required to pay a certain amount by a specific date, or else face further consequences, such as jail time.
If your ex-spouse isn’t complying with current child support orders in Irvine, contact our Irvine legal team at The Neshanian Law Firm, Inc today. Schedule a confidential consultation!