If there is a court order for child support, whether the divorce is final or not, the parent designated as the recipient parent can enforce the order if the other parent is not paying on time or does not provide child support payment in accordance with the court order. It is the job of the recipient parent to make sure that child support payments are provided for as long as they are needed for the care of the children. If you aren’t receiving the child support payments you are due according to court order, contact legal representation as soon as possible to avoid further arrearages.
Sadly, many find it fairly difficult to collect child support payments on-time, consistently and in full as ordered by the court. This is particularly difficult in situations where the paying parent owns their own business, is self-employed or has another income stream that is frequently sporadic. Many child support orders include an income withholding order (IWO). This is commonly referred to as a wage garnishment. Although this is not the only method of child support payment. When a wage garnishment is not in place for child support payments, the paying parent may provide payment directly to the other parent or submit the payments to a child support enforcement agency, which will turn money over to the recipient parent. This can be helpful as the agency will also keep track of the payment history on the case.
If you are not receiving your court ordered child support and a gentle reminder gained you no results, get in touch with an experienced family law attorney to enforce the court order. A good family law attorney can follow up with a parent in arrears on their court ordered child support. They can also ensure that court ordered health insurance coverage is in place, work with both parents to come up with a plan to pay past due child support when payments have not been made in a while (or if they have only been made partially or sporadically). In particularly difficult situations, they may even find it necessary to prepare an income withholding order (wage garnishment) to issue to the paying parent’s employer to ensure payments are made.
If you aren’t receiving your ordered child support, please don’t delay. In most cases, the farther a parent falls into arrears on their child support payments, the more difficult it is to collect the amount owed. Contact one of the experienced family law attorneys at The Maggio Law Firm today so we can assist you in enforcing your court-ordered child support.