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How to collect Child Support?
WHAT
EFFORTS CAN BE TAKEN TO COLLECT CHILD SUPPORT FROM
THE PARENT WHO DOES NOT PAY?
When a parent fails to provide support for a child,
the parents need to work together to make
arrangements for mutual sharing of the expense of
raising the child. For all parties concerned, the
best solution is often found when parents work
together.
In the situation where one parent does not cooperate
in sharing the responsibility for child support, the
controversy should be submitted to a court. The
first step is to obtain an order for the payment of
child support. Further action in the court for the
purpose of collecting child support can be taken if
the obligor parent fails to comply with the court
order for payment of child support. Like other
enforcement of judgment actions, the available
remedies range from simple to complex proceedings.
Wage assignments: The most common "tool"
used to collect child support payments that are not
voluntarily made is through a wage assignment order.
A wage assignment order is an order of the court
directing the employer to deduct the child support
payment from the earnings of an employee-obligor
parent and then make this payment directly to the
obligee parent. Violation of a wage assignment order
could result in the employer becoming responsible
for such payment to the obligee parent. assignment
orders can be obtained through a relatively simple
court procedure. Once obtained, the wage assignment
order must be served upon the employer of the
obligor parent before it becomes effective.
Enforcement action: When the obligor parent
continually fails to make support payments, the
total amount of the "arrearage" (payments
due and owing but not yet paid) can be set as a
judgment for further enforcement proceedings.
Interest on the arrearage is often included as part
of the judgment, since many states provide for
interest to accrue on outstanding orders for
support. The expense of an enforcement action to
collect a judgment is justified as the amount due
increases. When the obligor parent has income or
property, there is financial incentive to pursue
enforcement efforts and, with the assistance of
professionals, well worth the effort and expense.
Attachment or levy: Child support can also be
collected through other procedures. For example, if
the obligor has money in a bank, a valuable
automobile, an investment in a mutual fund, or an
interest in a property in the possession of a
third-party, an attachment or levy can be executed.
When executing a levy or attachment, care must be
taken since some property is exempt. In a levy or
attachment proceeding, the court can have the
property of the obligor parent "seized" or
taken away and given to the obligee parent. Although
an obligor parent may challenge the levy or
attachment in court ("claim an
exemption"), it can be very effective in
obtaining payment of a child support judgment.
Strict adherence to the established rules for levy
and attachment is required to protect an obligee
parent from an allegation theft of property.
WHAT
IS THE PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE?
The Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) obtains
and transmits information about the location of any
absent parent when that information is to be used
for the purpose of enforcing child support. The
service is an arm of the Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare. The FPLS also can be used in
connection with the enforcement or determination of
child custody, visitation, and parental kidnapping.
There are also state parent locator services in some
states.
Recent federal legislation (Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996)
also expanded the FPLS?s services to include a
National Directory of New Hires and a Federal Case
Registry of Support Orders. FPLS will match data
between the New Hire and Case Registry every two
days and report matches to states within two days.
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WHAT
OTHER COLLECTION REMEDIES ARE AVAILABLE?
The following are other alternative courses of
action:
Government: Many states have empowered local
government agencies (such as the Office of District
Attorney) to collect child support for an obligee
parent. Under law, the local agency may (or must)
take action to collect outstanding child support
arrearage. Resources, such as parent locator
services, and a staff of attorneys/clerks, are
available to local agencies to assist in collecting
court ordered child support.
Tax refund intercepts: Local agencies have the
authority to follow a procedure to
"intercept" federal or state tax refunds
which otherwise would be paid to the obligor parent.
Also, local agencies can provide information about
child support arrearage to consumer credit reporting
agencies who are then required include such
information in the agency's report. Although local
child support enforcement agencies can be slow,
because of the additional resources available to
them, their assistance should be requested as part
of the overall effort to collect a child support
arrearage.
Real estate liens: A "judgment lien" based
on child support arrearage can be recorded against
real estate owned by the obligor parent in the
county in which the property is located. When such a
lien is recorded, the real property becomes security
for the payment of the judgment. A judgment lien for
child support is then paid from the proceeds of the
sale when the property is sold. A judgment lien
against real property should be established whenever
an obligor parent owns real property that has an
equity value (that is, the amount of all outstanding
liens, including mortgages, is less than the fair
market value of the property).
Civil contempt of court: A more complex proceeding
is an action for contempt. Since payment of child
support is a direct order by a court to pay, failure
to pay is treated as a contempt of a court order. In
this proceeding, which is quasi-criminal in nature,
the obligee parent must prove to the court that the
obligor parent had the income from which support
could have been paid. Although a contempt proceeding
is complex, it certain to gain the attention of the
obligor parent.
Since collection of child support can be difficult,
professional assistance is often needed. Child
support judgments can easily reach many thousands of
dollars a year, and the cost of professional
assistance is justified, since those who are
familiar with collection procedures often obtain
favorable results.
IF
THE OBLIGOR PARENT DOESN'T PAY, CAN VISITATION BE
STOPPED?
No. The child support obligation and the right to
child visitation are two different issues.
Failure to pay child support is insufficient grounds
to stop the right of the obligor parent to visit
with his/her child. Visitation is ordered by a court
in the best interest of the child, to promote love
and affection with both parents, custodial and
non-custodial. Child visitation is vital to the
non-custodial parent so that a meaningful
relationship between child and parent can be
established.
On the other hand, child support is based upon the
financial needs of the child and the ability of both
parents to provide for these needs; thus is treated
as a separate issue, and does not have a
determinative effect upon visitation. The obligee
parent must continue to allow visitation with the
child despite failure of the obligor parent to pay
child support. Although this may be very hard for
the obligee parent to understand, if the obligee
parent "frustrates" the right of the
obligor parent to visit with the child, the obligor
parent could ask the court to change custody of the
child based upon this frustration of visitation even
though s/he is delinquent in payment of child
support.
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