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If Your Ex Won’t Pay Child Support, Be the Better Person
When your ex won’t pay child support, refusing to let them see your child seems like the logical “punishment”, but this may actually work against you. First, it can be a violation of visitation rights, meaning both of you could get in trouble with the court. Second, by keeping them involved in the child’s life, they are more likely to feel the need to pay the support they owe. Of course, if the lack of payment persists, support from the court or your attorney may be necessary.
Create a Budget Without Including the Child Support
While this may not always be possible, one safety precaution you can take is to plan your budget around not receiving child support. While this strategy does not impact whether your ex will pay or not, it does safeguard you against becoming reliant or counting on child support payments.
Keep a Record of Unpaid Child Support
You should always keep a record of missed payments, including dates and other important details. Should your ex continue to miss payments and you take them to court, the judge can order them to pay past due child support (also called “arrears”), possibly including fines.
Go to the Court
If your ex won’t pay child support and continues to miss payments for an extended period of time, you can initiate the court’s enforcement. Prolonged failure to comply can lead to serious actions being taken against your ex, such as wage garnishment, seizing of property, interception of tax refunds, and more. Keeping a detailed record of unpaid support becomes absolutely crucial in this situation.
Divorce and the ending of a long-term relationship where children are involved can be an extremely difficult experience. Having an ex who has been ordered to pay child support but refuses will only add to the stress and frustration you’re already experiencing. These steps will help you approach the situation and handle it rationally so your ex must pay what is owed.
If your ex won’t pay child support, contact the family law attorneys at Gray Eittreim Martin immediately: 770-225-7000