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Failure to Pay Child Support Panalties
Failure to pay Child Support can result in some serious court penalties. Some of the most common penalties are:
- Garnishment of wages, including unemployment and worker’s compensation
- Warrant issued for arrest, which may be criminal or civil
- Fines, jail, or both
- Suspension, revocation or denial of various licenses—professional, driver’s, hunting/fishing/boating
- Finding of contempt of court
- Denial of tax refunds
- Revocation of passport
- Having a lien placed on property to cover payment
- Exclusion from receipt of certain government benefits
Parents not paying child support have to be aware that all states are fully prepared to enforce court ordered child support. For those parents that think they can avoid their court ordered obligation of paying child support by relocating to another state the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act can bring federal charges; penalties can include not just mandatory restitution of unpaid child support obligation, but also imprisonment of up to two years in some instances.
Your child support payments can be changed only by a court’s modification order. The modification process can increase or decrease payments. The ways you can lower child support payments will vary by circumstance. You will need to convince a court that the financial situation of one or both of the parents has changed substantially generally. To lower your payments, you will need to file a motion in court to modify your child support payments. Most courts have pre-printed “fill in the blank” motion forms You will need to file this motion in the court that issued the initial child support order.