Non-Payment of Child Support

“What Do I Do if My Ex-Spouse Isn’t Paying?”

If your ex is not paying child support that was ordered by the court, there are several options available to you. In Georgia, judges have the ability to levy a punishment on parents who violate the divorce agreement by failing to pay child support. In situations where a child support agreement has already been ordered by the court, you can choose to bring a motion for enforcement to the court. This will give you the option to ask the order for additional orders to be filed or to even hold your ex in contempt. If your spouse is found to be in contempt, they may be ordered to pay fines or serve jail time.

Help from the Division of Child Support Services

The Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) has several options available in situations involving non-payment. One of the most common is the withholding or garnishment of wages. This results the simple deduction of the child support payment from their check. Another option that they can choose to pursue is the suspension of their license, including professional and occupational driver's license. If they are in non-compliance with the order of support and are 60 days behind in payments, the court can have their license revoked until they are in compliance and current on payments.

Other actions available to the DCSS include:

• Tax Refund & Lottery Intercept
• Referral to Credit Bureaus

Contempt actions can only be pursued after administrative enforcement actions.

Do Not Withhold Visitation Rights!

In many cases, parents who are not receiving the proper child support payments will make the decision to block the non-payer from visiting or communicating with their child at all. Withholding visitation rights, however, is serious. In these situations, it is important to get help from the courts and an experienced family law attorney—not deny visitation.

“I Can’t Keep up With Child Support. What Do I Do?”

Not everyone who fails to make child support payments is doing so maliciously. If you are obliged to pay child support but are struggling to keep up, we encourage you to contact our Marietta family lawyers as soon as you can. Do everything that you can to remain current as failure to pay can result in the consequences explained above; however, there are ways that we may be able to help you find a workable solution. If there have been a change in circumstances since the court order—such as a lost job or decrease in income—we can file a petition to modify your support order, which can reduce what you owe.

Get the Support You Need from Our Marietta Law Firm

At Henrickson & Sereebutra, we can handle your case for non-payment, regardless of whether you are the one who is obliged to pay or if your ex-spouse is in contempt. Call our firm as soon as you can to learn how we can help during these trying times.

Schedule a free case consultation with our divorce lawyers in Marietta today!