by admin
Child Support and the Law
When couples divorce and children are involved, the subject of child support will to come up. How a parent deals with the child support issue is going to affect their future and the future of the children. Knowing how Child Support is enforced in the United States and Canada may help many fathers understand how they can avoid getting into trouble by not following the rules.
Child Support Non Compliance
This is when the non-custodial parent avoids paying, or simply refuses to pay any child support. Typically society views these parents as “deadbeats” and a very unfavorable image is portrayed of them. However there are often many reasons why the non custodial parent may choose not to pay child support. Reasons such as to protest the lack of visitation rights, or the lack of proof that the money is actually being spent on the kids are the most common reasons. The other being simply that they cannot afford to pay.
What Can a Government Agency Do?
Many agencies (State, Provincial and Federal) have taken steps to intervene when a parent is in noncompliance of payment. Such actions typically are suspension of driving privileges, or perhaps suspension of a business or other professional license. This can occur because the Government entity usually has the ability to oversee the licenses that are granted within their State or Province.
In cases where the parent has failed to pay for an extended period of time, it is possible for the Government agency to garnish wages directly from the parent. This money is then typically disbursed to the custodial parent by the agency that oversees the collection of child support monies…
In worse cases of noncompliance the Government can send the deadbeat to prison. This is typically the last resort, and worse case scenario since no one really benefits from this arrangement as the parent cannot pay if he is not earning. However, it does place the parent under more stringent observation, such as having to report to a parole or probation officer. And these parents will typically find a way to pay, knowing that they could be returned to prison if they do not.
Failure to pay child support is not really an option of protest for a parent. If a court has ordered the payment of child support, and all other legal remedies have been exhausted, it is obviously in the parent’s best interest to pay up.
