What can you do if your ex is not paying child support?
Mothers and Fathers are increasingly on equal footing when it comes to custody. Despite progress in efforts to equalize parenting duties, mothers often have the children for more time than fathers, and the father usually ends up paying child support. Not all cases are like this. There are many situations where the Father has primary custody and the mother pays child support.
Still, it’s more common for fathers to pay child support and when tension arises due to visitation or custody time, child support payments are sometimes withheld. Withholding a court-mandated payment, regardless of the reasons, is not advisable and could land someone with a Contempt of Court.
There are cases where a custodial parent intentionally stops the noncustodial (child-support paying) parent from seeing their child(ren). They do this out of spite, anger, or another reason. The noncustodial parent might react by stopping support payments.
Surprisingly for some, child support and child custody are not linked in this way. Child support payments are not conditional on being able to see one’s children. Support payments are court-ordered and unless a modification is ruled on by a judge then they cannot stop being paid. Much the same way that parenting time is ordered by the Court, and should not be stopped unless the Judge modifies the Order.
Your Ex Stopped Paying Child Support. What Now?
If your ex is not paying child support (or paying the full amount of child support) you need to follow a few of these steps. First, make sure you have proof that there’s been a failure to pay. Pull records from your bank including deposits, past payments, and how they usually pay.
Through a family law attorney, you can now go to court. Going to court with this issue usually includes filing a Motion for Enforcement or a Motion for Contempt. You are essentially asking the court to fix the issue. But let your child support family law attorney advise you on which route to take.
What further steps can be taken?
If your ex fails to pay child support (or does not pay it on time) then an income deduction order might be an option to investigate. This means that payments will be directly taken from their paycheck by their employer and provided to the custodial parent. Garnishing wages or income is also a possible course.
A judge can also order for a lien on real estate property. If your ex has assets in real property, like a house or rental unit, then a lien could be put on the title of the property. This causes the potential sale of that property to be encumbered due to their child support debt. If they own a rental property then a judge could ask for the money a tenant pays to be directly paid to you.
Here For You – Atlanta Family Law Professionals
We know that going to court to ask for money is not easy. But it’s your money and you’re simply seeking what was ordered by a judge.
We stand up for our clients. Our decades of combined experience in areas related to Child Support, Divorce, Child Custody, Alimony, and other areas of Family Law is why people trust us.
Give us a call at 1-770-723-7211 today or click here to set up a consultation.
Our firm is based out of Atlanta and we serve throughout the State of Georgia, including but not limited to Fulton, Fayette, Cobb, Douglas, Paulding and DeKalb counties.
