The Secrets for Successfully Collecting Child Support

As you exit the courthouse, you feel drained but relieved. The judge ordered

your child’s other parent to pay you a weekly child support amount calculated

according to your state guidelines.

Payments begin and you hope they will continue. Is there anything you can do

now to increase the chances of keeping the child support flowing?

Suppose, after a few months, the payments stop. Soon, a considerable arrearage

accrues; you are struggling to meet expenses. How can you get your child’s other

parent to pay up?

You have both non-legal and legal tools at your disposal to encourage child

support payments and to collect past due child support. If your ex is behind on

child support, take steps now to minimize the possibility that large arrearages

could accumulate in the future.

MAINTAIN FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS TO PREVENT OR QUICKLY FIX A

NON-PAYMENT ISSUE

Family relationships are an important factor in child support compliance. Even

if you and your child’s other parent have a contentious relationship, try to keep

your communications civil. Avoid provoking arguments. Once your ex is riled up,

he or she may decide to skip child support payments just to spite you.

Do everything you can to foster a bond between your child and the other parent.

Your child will benefit from a relationship with both parents and the other parent

will have one less justification for withholding child support. A parent with a regular

presence in a child’s life is more likely to keep up his or her child support payments.

An involved parent can see how essential child support is in meeting a child’s needs.

Maintaining a positive relationship with the family of your child’s other parent may

also provide benefits. Should your ex relocate out of state, be terminated from or

change employment, change careers or professions, his or her family may assist

in swiftly rectifying a nonpayment issue. They may be able to tell you where to

find a parent who has temporarily gone AWOL. They may also be able to exert

some influence on their son, daughter, or sibling to pay up.

WHEN A CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGE DEVELOPS

When a parent fails to pay child support, he or she violates the court’s order.

Sporadically missing one or two child support payments could have a reasonable

explanation and the parent may catch up voluntarily. Failing to make multiple

payments will result in the accrual of back child support. This is a problem that

requires action. If an arrearage develops, prompt collection is necessary.

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR DEALING WITH A CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGE WITHOUT

LEGAL INTERVENTION

• Do not fight with the parent who owes you child support, especially not in

the child’s presence. Do not use vile or vulgar language.

• Do not discuss child support issues with the parent in the child’s presence.

• Maintain your positive relationship with the family constellation.

• Speak directly with the parent and provide a written follow-up statement

detailing the arrearage owed and requesting immediate payment. Give him

or her a specific time to pay the arrearage, i.e., “pay by Tuesday, the 5th

of the month.” Keep a copy of all communications and demands for your

records, and for the court and your attorney.

• Request payment of the arrearage promptly. Do not let a large arrearage

accumulate before taking action. It is likely the parent will more easily pay

three weeks’ arrearage, rather than three months’ arrearage.

• Keep original receipts for health care co-pays, office visits, deductibles paid,

other expenses for your records and to give to the other parent.

• If the arrearage is not paid by your requested time, obtain a child support

print out certified by the Clerk of Court (or prepare your own), indicating

the amount of arrearage due. Provide it to the parent, informing him or

her that legal action is being commenced immediately. Indicate you prefer

payment without court intervention.

• If you have a genuine and cordial relationship with the grandparents (your

ex’s parents), you may inform them that their son or daughter has stopped

paying support for their grandchild. Grandparents have a soft heart and

may encourage their son or daughter to make the arrearage payment or

they may pay it themselves.

• Do not withhold visitation despite the child support delinquency. If you do,

you will violate a court order.

• If informal efforts do not work, consult an attorney to initiate one or more

of the legal options described below.

THE SECRETS TO COLLECTING BACK SUPPORT

#1. File a Motion for Contempt Requesting Payment and Incarceration

A Motion for Contempt alleges the parent has been ordered to make support

payments and has willfully refused to do so, violating the court’s order. On the

court’s finding of a willful violation, the parent is held in contempt of court. The

parent can be incarcerated in the county jail for nonpayment. A “purge amount” (a

portion of the arrearage to be paid to secure release) will be set. When the “purge

amount” is paid, the parent is released from incarceration. On your request, the

court will enter an Income Withholding Order (if one has not already been entered)

directed to the parent’s employer requiring that ongoing support and an additional

amount toward the arrearage be automatically withheld from the parent’s paycheck.

#2. Get a Money Judgment

With the entry of its order finding the parent in contempt of court, and depending

on the parent’s financial solvency, you may find it advisable to request that the

court enter a money judgment against the parent in the amount of the arrearage.

The judgment typically will include a provision that interest at the current legal

rate will accrue until the judgment is satisfied. The money judgment in your favor

will be recorded in the public records of the county in which litigation has taken

place, and it may also be recorded in the county where the parent resides or owns

property. This outstanding money judgment will affect the parent’s credit score

and will prove problematic if he or she seeks a loan, applies for a credit card, or

tries to finance a vehicle.

#3. Request a Writ of Execution, Writ of Attachment, or Writ of Garnishment

If the parent owing child support has assets such as boats, motorcycles, coin or

art collections, bank accounts, and investments, you have several options for

collecting back child support. Along with a money judgment, a Writ of Execution

may issue which directs the county sheriff to take possession of the parent’s nonexempt

assets (typically tangible assets) and sell them at public auction. You will

get the sale proceeds until the judgment is fully satisfied.

A Writ of Attachment is similar, but is typically used before you get a judgment to

“freeze” the asset so, once you have the judgment, the asset can be used to satisfy it.

The Writ of Garnishment is similar to an Income Withholding Order. Some states

refer to it as wage garnishment for the payment of child support. The Writ of

Garnishment is continuing and will be effective until the outstanding arrearage

is fully satisfied.

#4. Request Suspension of Driver’s License, Business License, Professional or

Occupational License and Passport

Most, if not all, states have enacted laws to compel parents to make regular child

support payments. If an arrearage accrues, these laws may force compliance with

the court’s order even if other methods have failed. Many parents who owe child

support are employed in occupations and professions that require licensing, such

as physicians, pharmacists, nurses, accountants, electricians, and barbers, to name

a few. Without a current, active license, engaging in these professions is unlawful.

On your request, the court may enter an order suspending a professional license

for nonpayment of child support. Suspending a professional license is expected

to coerce the delinquent parent into satisfying the arrearage immediately, so he

or she can get back to work.

Another effective tool is the state’s ability to suspend the parent’s driver’s license.

Without a valid driver’s license, the parent is unable to operate a motor vehicle

legally. This situation gravely impairs his or her ability to travel for any purpose

and may be especially effective if the parent earns money as a driver. The parent

finds himself or herself in the unenviable position of trying to get a needed license

reinstated as quickly as possible. This is a very useful tool to obtain compliance

with a child support obligation.

If the child support arrearage exceeds $2,500.00, the federal Office of Child Support

Enforcement notifies the federal Passport Denial Program which has the authority

to deny, revoke or restrict U.S. Passports. This mechanism has been successful in

collecting back child support from parents who could pay but choose otherwise.

#5. Seek Help from Your State Child Support Collection Agency

The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement works in concert with the child

support collection agencies of the various states. The states participate in child

support collection through Title IV of the Social Security Act of 1975. While there

are several different Title IV programs, generally any parent who is owed child

support may request collection and enforcement services from the state agency at

no charge. Through the Title IV program, the state has a wide range of resources

to discover the employment status of a delinquent parent, the whereabouts of a

runaway parent (Federal Parent Locator Service), and the ability to intercept state

and federal tax refunds and lottery winnings.

#6. Consult an Attorney Regarding Federal Law for the Collection of Child Support Arrearage

An additional federal mechanism may be available to you to enforce payment

of child support. 18 U.S.C. §228 makes it illegal for an individual to fail to pay

child support in certain circumstances. See Citizens Guide to U.S. Federal Law on

Child Support Enforcement, United States Department of Justice, July 7, 2017.

Depending on the amount of the arrearage, the length of time the parent has been

delinquent and where he or she resides, the violation may be a misdemeanor

with a potential fine and prison sentence of up to six months, or a felony with a

potential fine and prison sentence of up to two years. If the parent owes more

than $5,000.00 or has been delinquent for longer than one year, the law prohibits

him or her from crossing state lines or fleeing the country with the intent to avoid

paying child support. There are restrictions regarding when prosecution under

this law can be initiated. Accordingly, consult with your attorney to see if it applies

in your case.

#7. Contact Your State Child Support Collection Agency for Intrastate Enforcement

People in the United States are highly mobile. It is common for one or both

parents to relocate to another state due to job transfer, new job offers, a military

reassignment, or a simple desire to live where the grass appears to be greener.

Most states have adopted the Uniform Intrastate Family Support Act (UIFSA) to

implement the payment and collection of child support in a sister state. A collection

action under this Act in another state may be brought by a private attorney, but

your state child support collection agency has the tools and relationships with

other states to effectively facilitate child support collection from a parent who lives

in a different state. Intrastate enforcement of child support can be a complicated

process and requires the assistance of a knowledgeable and experienced attorney.

Under UIFSA, you may petition for enforcement of child support in another state,

and, in some circumstances, prosecute or defend a petition to modify the amount

of child support.

PARTING THOUGHTS

Parents with child support obligations can be placed into one of three categories:

• Those who take their support obligations seriously, pay regularly and on time.

• Those who have difficulty paying regularly and often miss payments, fall

into arrearage from time to time and require coercion, encouragement and

often enforcement to ensure payment.

• Those who have little or no desire to pay the obligation. Individuals in this

group refuse to work, or if working, change jobs and employers frequently,

work for cash under the table if possible, and keep their employment lives a

mystery. Many of these non-payors relocate in state and out of state. These

schemes are purposely designed to frustrate the recipient parent and the

child support system resulting in financial abandonment of the child.

If you find that your child’s other parent is in the second or third category, maintain

a cordial relationship with his or her family to learn where he or she works. Take

action to remedy a delinquency after only a few missed payments before the

arrearage becomes unmanageable. If the non-paying parent, cannot be located,

or is known to have moved out of state, contact your attorney or your local child

support enforcement office as soon as possible to prevent an untenable situation

from escalating further.

The attorneys at Penglase & Benson, Inc. are familiar with how to request the appropriate amount of child support and in collecting the full amount due. Call us at 215-348-4416 to schedule a confidential consultation to make sure that you are paying or receiving the proper amount of child support.