What Should I Do If My Child’s Other Parent Has Been Missing Child Support Payments?

 Posted on April 24, 2020 in Child Support

If you are a single parent entitled to child support, you have probably come to rely heavily on these funds. Whether it is child care, groceries, educational or extracurricular activities, or other costs, raising a child is expensive. When a parent does not receive his or her child support, it can be hard to make ends meet. Furthermore, child support orders are legally binding court orders. A parent cannot simply choose to stop payments. If a parent fails to meet his or her child support obligation, he or she can be charged with contempt of court and face other serious consequences.

Enforcing a Child Support Order

In order for a child support arrangement to be enforceable, it must be officially ordered by the court. If you and your child’s other parent had an informal child support arrangement, you will need to take the steps to establish a formal child support order. If the legal paternity of your child has not been established and you want to collect child support from your child’s father, you will need to establish paternity before you can collect child support.

Court-mandated child support payments are not optional. If your child’s other parent is not paying court-ordered support, you have two basic options. You may contact the Illinois Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) and initiate an enforcement action through this agency or you may enforce the child support order through the Illinois court system. The latter option may help you receive a favorable outcome more quickly than going through the DCSS, but the option you choose will be based on your unique situation and needs.

Remedies for Child Support Nonpayment

Because child support is court-mandated, the state has many options at its disposal for enforcing a child support order. If your child’s other parent does not pay child support, he or she may be subject to:

• Wage or bank account garnishment
• Federal and state tax refund interception
• Driver’s license suspension and suspension of his or her professional license
• U.S. passport suspension
• Liens on his or her property

Although sending a parent to jail for child support nonpayment is typically the last resort, it can and does happen. If a parent does not pay child support for more than 6 months or owes more than $5,000, he or she could be convicted of a Class A misdemeanor. If the parent owes more than $20,000 in past-due child support, he or she could be convicted of a Class 4 felony and imprisoned for up to three years.

Contact a DuPage County Child Support Enforcement Lawyer

If you need to establish paternity, initiate child support, or enforce an existing child support order, Pesce Law Group, P.C. can help. Call our office at 630-352-2240 today and schedule a free consultation with a skilled Naperville family law attorney to discuss your needs.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K505.htm