When someone hasn’t paid court-ordered child support regularly, the party to whom it is owed has the right to bring a Motion for Contempt before the court. If a case is registered with the Support Enforcement Services, they will monitor the payments received and the arrearage balance. .

When the case ultimately goes before the judge or magistrate, the obligor (defined as the person who owes the child support) is often shocked at how much he or she actually owes in back support. It’s not at all surprising that the missed payments add up fast.

When the obligor is found to be in contempt of court, he or she may be ordered to cough up a large lump sum payment or spend some time in a cozy little jail cell. Faced with those choices, I’ve heard some wild proposals from obligors for paying off the back support.

My all-time favorite is the one from the guy who owed in excess of fifty-five grand. His proposal? Pay 50 bucks a month on the arrearage. Um, that would take him something like 87 years to pay off!

If you owe child support, pay it on time and in full to save yourself the hassle of being summoned to court. In addition to facing incarceration, a judge or magistrate may revoke your professional licenses, intercept your income tax refunds, require job searches, revoke your passport, and a variety of other unpleasant surprises.

If you are supposed to receive child support but the obligor fails to pay you, contact an attorney to find out the best course of action.

No matter what though, don’t settle for 50 bucks a month on a huge arrearage balance. You’ll be in a rocking chair by the time it’s paid off!

If the inmate was incarcerated for a crime against either the child or the custodial parent, however, the court will NOT reduce the existing child support order.

Are there other ways to enforce my child support order?
What is an income withholding order?
What is a medical support order?
How does my daycare order work?

Fortunately, Connecticut’s Support Enforcement Services publishes a concise but helpful brochure designed to answer these questions and several others. The brochure also lists contact information for the agency.

Download: For Custodial Parent — Answers to Common Questions (available in .pdf format).

[Source: Connecticut Judicial Branch]

Crawford OKs continuation of jobs program for those who owe support payments

By TIM HAHN
tim.hahn@timesnews.com

MEADVILLE — Crawford County will continue a program that has generated more child- and spousal-support payments by helping those who owe them to find work.

County commissioners on Thursday approved a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Domestic Relations Office and Pennsylvania Career Link that will keep in place a 3-year-old program.

The county pays $3,190 per year for Career Link’s assistance in helping some people who are behind on their court-ordered support payments develop job skills and find work. Two-thirds of that amount is reimbursed by the state, Crawford County Court Administrator John Shuttleworth told commissioners Thursday morning.

Since the program’s inception in 2006, 344 noncustodial parents have participated in the program, Domestic Relations Director Carla Smith said.

The first phase of the program involved out-of-work people who owe support being referred to Career Link for assistance. Of the 144 clients who were court-ordered into that phase of the program between September 2006 and June 2007, 87 clients became employed or were otherwise removed from the program, and the county collected $86,000 in unpaid support.

During the second phase, in which Domestic Relations took a more active role in its clients’ involvement, Crawford County collected $144,000 in unpaid support, officials said.

The third phase, which started in February 2008, involved devoting a full-time Domestic Relations worker to the program to provide more one-on-one assistance to clients. That helped generate $32,543 in unpaid support in 2008 and $70,323 so far in 2009, Smith said.

Domestic Relations has averaged 15 to 20 clients in the program at one time during the third phase, with participation increasing because of the economy and the high unemployment rate, Smith said.

TIM HAHN can be reached at 392-7821 or by e-mail.

[Source: Florida Divorce Law Blog]