A child support agreement or order can be meaningless if the paying parent refuses to follow it. In these circumstances, the other parent can utilize a number of strategies and mechanisms to force the paying parent to make child support payment.
Under California law, both parents are responsible for the support of their children. Child support is essential to your child’s health and wellbeing. Thus, it is important to follow through with child support enforcement.
On the other hand, if you are ordered to pay child support, sometimes the amount ordered is wrong or should be changed due to a change in circumstances. Other times, the mechanisms for enforcement utilized by the other parent are not based on true or complete information.
Whether you are the child support payor or payee, you have rights in court that can best be represented by a family law attorney familiar with setting and enforcing child support.
Wage Assignment
Usually, once you get a child support order from a court, a wage assignment will be issued. Another name for this is wage garnishment. The wage assignment will order an employer to take out the child support payment from the paycheck of the paying parent.
In many instances, this process works well; however, the wage assignment method is not foolproof. For example, an employer could refuse to comply or the paying parent could request a stay of the wage garnishment, perhaps for inappropriate reasons. In these circumstances, an attorney can review your claim to help you understand your options as a non-paying parent.
Child Support Agency
You local child support agency can initiate wage garnishment as well as put liens on bank accounts and property. It can also direct government funds that the non-paying parent would ordinarily be entitled to (such as tax refunds or unemployment checks) to the payee parent.
Contempt Actions
If the paying parent still refuses to pay, you can file a contempt action with the court. A judge will listen to your claim and any defenses the other parent may assert. If there is a finding of contempt, the non-paying parent could be required to pay a fine or serve jail time.
Contact a San Jose Child Support Enforcement Lawyer
Child support enforcement matters are important to your family. Both parents have the obligation to support their child and neither should be required to pay more than their fair share.
Call the qualified San Jose, CA child support enforcement attorney at Dominion Law Group, LLP at 408-288-5592 to set up your first meeting today.
Source:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/1198.htm
http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM§ionNum=5230.
