What Happens If Your Ex-Spouse Fails to Pay Child Support?

Divorce and Child Support Attorneys in New Jersey and Passaic County, including Wayne, Clifton, Little Falls, West Milford, and Woodland Park

Raising a child requires both parents to become involved in any and all decisions surrounding the child’s wellbeing, from the moment they decide to become a family. Child support would become an active variable for one of the parties if the parents decide to divorce.

What Does Child Support Cover?

Child support is a recurrent, continuous payment made by one of the parents for the financial benefit of a child, once a marriage or other relationship comes to an end. Child support is mostly intended to cover basic needs such as food, clothing, and a safe living environment. Some states may also allow for child support to be used to cover basic necessities, educational fees or tuitions, medical expenses and insurance, childcare or daycare, transportation, extracurricular activities, entertainment, and college expenses.

The purpose of child support is to offer a secure and constant support income source for the children, similar to that of a complete household prior to a divorce, making sure to cover all of the child’s(children’s) needs. Even though child support is usually assigned by the Court, issues may arise as the designated parent required to pay for the allowance, might decide not to honor such agreement. A common reason why one of the parents may try to avoid committing to the established child support payment is to try to force the other parent into a custody battle to earn more time with the child or children.

Typically, if one parent has less custody time (parenting time) than the other parent, the parent with a lesser amount of custody time will pay child support to the parent who does spend more time raising the child and ensuring all needs are met on a daily basis. If custody time has been split into equal amounts of time between both parents, then the parent who earns a higher income will pay child support to the parent who earns less or no income at all.

Choosing to avoid paying child support, despite the reasoning behind the decision, is still deemed as illegal and therefore non-compliant with the child support order issued by the court. The child support collection process should be studied and fully understood by whoever is the parent designated as the child’s main guardian and thus the recipient responsible to collect and manage the allowance.

Options If Having Trouble Collecting Child Support

When child support is not being paid in full or on the agreed dates, the best suggestion is to seek advice from an attorney to request the court to aid in implementing the orders that were issued upon the divorce settlement.

Unfortunately, the outcome might result in the spouse being held in contempt by the court, hence affecting the situation in more than one way. Being held in contempt does allow the other spouse to secure support because the court could have the ability to withhold the ex-spouse’s wages or income to ensure the aforementioned child support payments.

There are other possible solutions as well, some of which can take place outside the courtroom. If you’re struggling to get support, don’t wait to look for a solution. An experienced family law attorney can help you.

Contact our Child Support Lawyers for a Free Consultation

If you are having issues when trying to collect child support, even though a court order has been issued, you are entitled to attorney representation to explore more options to collect support as well as to petition the court to enforce existing orders.

At The Montanari Law Group,  we take pride in successfully representing clients in New Jersey and Passaic County, including Wayne, Clifton, Little Falls, West Milford, and Woodland Park. Whether you are currently involved in a divorce process or are considering initiating one, do not let a faulty equitable distribution affect your life,

To discuss your case with one of our knowledgeable Passaic County child support attorneys, contact us online or give us a call at (973) 233-4396 for a free initial consultation. We offer flexible appointment options and in-person appointments at our centrally-located office in Little Falls, New Jersey.