How To Enforce A Child Support Order When Payments Stop

Child support orders are legally binding court judgments, not optional payments parents can skip when convenient. When the paying parent falls behind on support obligations, you have multiple legal remedies to enforce the order and collect past-due amounts. Courts take child support enforcement seriously because these payments directly impact children’s wellbeing.

Our friends at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C. help custodial parents pursue enforcement when support payments become sporadic or stop altogether. A divorce lawyer can evaluate which enforcement methods suit your situation best and guide you through the legal processes for collecting overdue support.

Document The Missed Payments

Before pursuing enforcement, document exactly how much is owed. Maintain detailed records of every payment received and every payment missed. Compare actual payments against the court order to calculate the arrears amount.

State child support enforcement agencies often track payments and arrears automatically if support goes through their systems. Request a payment history from the agency showing the total amount owed.

If payments are supposed to come directly to you rather than through an enforcement agency, keep meticulous records. Note the date, amount, and method for every payment you receive. Document when expected payments don’t arrive.

Income Withholding And Wage Garnishment

Income withholding is the most common and effective enforcement method. The court orders the paying parent’s employer to deduct child support directly from their paycheck and send it to you or the state disbursement unit.

Most child support orders include automatic income withholding provisions. If support is ordered but withholding hasn’t been implemented, you can request it at any time.

Employers must comply with income withholding orders. Federal law requires employers to begin withholding support from wages and send payments within specific timeframes. Employers who ignore withholding orders face penalties.

Wage garnishment captures support before the paying parent receives their paycheck, preventing them from spending money that should go to child support. This method works well for parents with traditional employment.

Contempt Of Court Proceedings

Filing a motion for contempt holds the non-paying parent accountable for violating the support order. Contempt proceedings can result in fines, attorney fees, or even jail time for willful failure to pay support.

You must prove that a valid support order exists, the paying parent had the ability to pay, and they willfully failed to comply. Financial hardship might provide a defense if the parent genuinely couldn’t pay, but simply choosing not to pay constitutes willful violation.

Contempt proceedings can result in:

• Orders to pay the arrears immediately or on a payment plan
• Fines payable to the court
• Payment of your attorney fees
• Jail time for continued willful non-payment

Judges sometimes suspend jail sentences on the condition that the parent pays current support plus specified amounts toward arrears. This approach motivates compliance while avoiding incarceration that would prevent the parent from earning income.

License Suspension

Many states can suspend various licenses when child support arrears reach certain thresholds. Driver’s licenses, professional licenses, and recreational licenses like hunting or fishing permits can all be suspended for non-payment.

License suspension creates powerful incentive to pay. Parents who need their driver’s license for work or their professional license to earn income typically find ways to pay once suspension is threatened.

The process usually involves notice to the non-paying parent giving them opportunity to pay or set up a payment plan before suspension occurs. If they don’t respond, the state suspends the relevant licenses.

Tax Refund Interception

Federal and state tax refunds can be intercepted to pay child support arrears. The government takes all or part of the non-paying parent’s tax refund and sends it to you.

This remedy works through state child support enforcement agencies working with federal and state tax authorities. The paying parent receives notice that their refund will be intercepted, but they can’t stop it if they owe support.

Tax interception works particularly well for parents who owe substantial arrears and typically receive tax refunds. The full refund amount goes toward the debt until it’s paid off.

Credit Reporting

Child support arrears appear on credit reports. State child support agencies report overdue support amounts to credit bureaus, damaging the non-paying parent’s credit score.

Poor credit makes it harder to obtain loans, rent apartments, or make major purchases. This consequence motivates some parents to pay support to protect their creditworthiness.

Credit reporting happens automatically in many states once arrears reach certain amounts. You don’t need to take special action for this enforcement to occur.

Property Liens

Courts can place liens on the non-paying parent’s real estate, vehicles, or other property. The lien attaches to the property and must be paid before the property can be sold or refinanced.

Property liens ensure you eventually collect arrears even if the parent isn’t currently paying. When they try to sell or refinance property, they must satisfy the child support lien.

Recording liens requires filing documents with the appropriate government office, typically the county recorder. Once recorded, the lien becomes part of public record and affects the property title.

Bank Account Levies

Court orders can allow levying or freezing the non-paying parent’s bank accounts. The bank must turn over funds in the account up to the amount of child support owed.

This remedy works when you know where the parent banks and they have money in accounts. The levy captures available funds to satisfy support obligations.

Parents sometimes learn about levies when their accounts are suddenly frozen or emptied to pay support arrears. While this can create hardship for them, it gets you the support owed to your children.

Passport Denial

The federal government can deny or revoke passports for parents owing more than a certain amount in child support arrears. Currently, the U.S. State Department can deny passports when arrears exceed $2,500.

This enforcement tool prevents international travel and motivates parents to pay support before the debt reaches denial thresholds. Parents who need passports for work or personal reasons must resolve child support arrears to maintain passport privileges.

Working With State Enforcement Agencies

State child support enforcement agencies provide services to help collect support. These government offices can pursue various enforcement remedies on your behalf at no cost.

Contact your state’s child support enforcement office to open a case if you haven’t already. The agency will use available tools like income withholding, license suspension, and tax interception to collect support.

Enforcement agencies handle multiple cases and might move slowly. If you need faster action or have a complicated situation, working with a private attorney in addition to or instead of the state agency might be more effective.

Modifying Support Vs. Enforcing It

Don’t confuse enforcement with modification. If the paying parent’s circumstances have changed and they genuinely can’t afford current support, they should file for modification rather than simply stopping payment.

Arrears don’t go away even if support is later modified. Any amounts owed before modification was granted remain due. Modification changes future support obligations, not past-due amounts.

If the paying parent claims inability to pay, they need to prove it through proper modification proceedings. Until the court modifies support, the original order remains enforceable.

Interstate Enforcement

Child support enforcement across state lines uses the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) adopted by all states. This law provides mechanisms for enforcing support orders when parents live in different states.

Register your support order in the state where the paying parent lives. The local state can then enforce the order using that state’s tools and resources.

Interstate cases can be more complicated than local enforcement, but the same remedies generally apply regardless of where parents live.

Criminal Prosecution

Extreme cases of non-payment can result in criminal charges. Federal law makes it a crime to willfully fail to pay child support when the child lives in a different state or when arrears exceed certain amounts for certain periods.

Criminal prosecution typically occurs only in cases of substantial arrears and clear ability to pay. Most enforcement stays in civil court where remedies focus on collecting support rather than punishing parents.

Protecting Your Rights

Keep copies of your support order and all payment records. You’ll need these documents to prove what’s owed and pursue enforcement.

Don’t let arrears accumulate indefinitely before taking action. The longer you wait, the larger the debt grows and the harder it might be to collect everything owed.

Never agree to informal arrangements where the paying parent asks you not to enforce the order in exchange for promises to pay. Formal court orders protect you better than handshake deals.

What You Cannot Do

Don’t withhold visitation because support isn’t being paid. Custody and support are separate issues. Denying parenting time because of unpaid support violates court orders and can hurt your custody position.

Avoid harassing the paying parent or their employer. Use legal enforcement methods rather than creating conflict that might complicate your case.

Don’t accept partial payments as full satisfaction of arrears without court approval. Any agreement to reduce or forgive arrears should be formalized through court proceedings.

Moving Forward With Enforcement

Multiple legal tools exist for enforcing child support orders when parents fall behind on their obligations, from wage garnishment and contempt proceedings to license suspension and tax refund interception. These remedies protect your children’s right to financial support from both parents regardless of the paying parent’s excuses for non-payment. If child support payments have stopped or become inconsistent and you need help pursuing enforcement through the most effective legal channels for your situation, reach out to discuss which enforcement methods will help you collect overdue support and establish reliable ongoing payment.