What Happens if You Don’t Pay Child Support?

According to the Office of Child Support Enforcement’s 2020 Preliminary Report, which includes its most recent data, just over 10 million people under a court order to pay child support are behind in their payments, with a cumulative total of over $115 billion owed.

It is difficult to find more up-to-date data at a time when the federal government is in transition. The Office of Child Support Enforcement is managed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the new Secretary of HHS and it is not clear how his priorities will impact individual offices.

Not all of those 10 million cases, nor the billions of dollars owed, are because of “deadbeat dads,” the popular name given to those who have the resources to pay child support but choose to ignore court orders.

Many child support problems are the result of parents falling behind because of circumstances beyond their control such as a lost job, medical emergency or just not enough income to handle the financial load every month.

In cases like these, it might seem logical to reach out to the co-parent and try to make an informal agreement to resolve the problem. And it’s true that it’s a good idea to keep all concerned parties in the loop if your financial situation has changed.

But that can’t be the only step to take! Child support payments are court-ordered for a reason and any adjustments should be made only with the agreement of the courts.

Judges weigh income, age and earning capacity in determining how much child support to award. If there is a significant change in any of those categories, judges are the ones responsible for re-setting monthly payments.

Legal Consequences of Not Paying Child Support

For starters, there are personal consequences, such as strained relationships with your children or fellow parent.

Those can be addressed without involving the courts. But if the courts are going to be involved, it is smart to know the possible consequences and to be prepared for them in advance. Failure to prepare can lead to compounding penalties. Once you fall behind on child support payments, it becomes more difficult to get back on track.

Being in arrears on child support can also make you ineligible to obtain or renew a passport, as well as adversely affect your credit score.

Contempt of Court

Because child support payments are often set by a judge, failing to make those payments can lead to a judge finding a person in contempt of court. Any defiance of a judge or court can lead to contempt, which in turn can lead to fines or even jail time for repeat incidents.

It is a good idea to remain respectful and calm while dealing with any judge, in any court. In this case, the judge is the person who can lower child support amounts if it is deemed reasonable.

A finding of contempt can lead to criminal charges, a misdemeanor for falling behind five years and even a felony for falling behind 10 years or more.

Wage Garnishment

If wage garnishment sounds awful, well, it is. A judge can simply order an employer to withhold a portion of a person’s wages in order to pay a debt. That is the risk of letting child support payments lapse to the point they become a debt that requires such a drastic solution.

In this case, a judge can order an employer to withhold wages, and then pay the garnished amount to the custodial parent. In effect, your child support (including back payments) gets paid without passing through your hands.

Property Liens

The judge can place liens on assets, such as a home or vehicle if child support goes unpaid. That means your ability to sell or refinance the affected asset is limited. Once imposed, the lien can be lifted by the judge at any time.

It is worth emphasizing here that these consequences are not likely for a late or even missed child support payment or two. They are meant to address a chronic problem, so the best way to avoid them is to prevent a problem from becoming chronic.

Financial Penalties for Missed Child Support Payments

Along with legal consequences for missed child support payments, there are also possible financial penalties. As always, it is better to avoid reaching this corner than trying to paint your way out of it.

As with most unpaid debt, you can find yourself owing even more money because of accrued interest, late fees and other penalties. These can be viewed as punishment for failing to make payments, or as incentives to avoid creating the situation.

Interest and Late Fees

Once the money owed for child support becomes a debt, it becomes, like any other debt, subject to interest and late fees.

Some 34 American states apply interest (ranging from 4-12% annually) to unpaid child support amounts. Other states do not apply interest as a penalty for unpaid child support. Once the unpaid amount is organized as a debt with interest, it becomes subject to late fees.

In other words, by failing to keep child support payments current, you can be required to pay interest on the total amount. And if you fail to make those payments, you face possible late fees. At the very least, check the laws in your state so you understand your situation.

Seizure of Tax Refunds

Clearly, there is a gradual increase in the severity of the legal and financial consequences for falling behind on child support payments, just as there is with other debts. If steps such as wage garnishment and property liens do not remedy the situation, sterner measures are available.

The United States Treasury has an Offset Program, which matches money owed by the government, such as income tax refunds, with unpaid debt. That includes child support. Remember, tax money is often withheld by the state and federal government, so refunds can be intercepted with little trouble.

Many states have similar programs, so both state and federal tax refunds can be intercepted to resolve outstanding debt.

Suspension of Licenses

All 50 states have the ability to suspend driver’s licenses. Failure to pay child support can also result in the suspension of professional licenses or such recreational licenses as hunting or fishing.

What to Do If You Can’t Pay Child Support

Knowing what the possible consequences are for failing to pay child support is a good start. Avoiding them is even better, and there are things to do if you run into difficulty keeping up with payments.

And here’s something to remember: Filing for bankruptcy won’t help you. Back child support can’t be forgiven in bankruptcy.

This may seem overwhelming, but there are ways to get help. Consider asking a pro-bono Legal Advocacy Group for assistance. Contact your local United Way or other charity groups or search online for pro-bono legal services.

Each municipality typically has a Legal Aid Society center as well to offer free legal advice to residents, and many of the courts have a Legal Resource center that can provide the petition forms you need for the actual filing. While they can’t offer you legal advice, they can help you get the forms you need. Many forms are available online as well. This isn’t something that can wait.

Alternatively, you can contact Child Support Enforcement in the state where your child support is owed.  They can help walk you through the process and may be able to put you in touch with the legal resources you need.

Whatever course you take, the chances that you can find a way to reduce the amounts you have to pay will improve if you make an honest and genuine effort to keep the court that ordered the child support in the first place informed about your situation.

1. Let the Court Know

It is vital that you notify the court that oversees your case about the difficulties in your financial situation, as soon as possible. That’s true even if you’ve made an agreement with the child’s other parent to reduce the amount you’re paying in child support.

Since only a judge can legalize a modification to the original child support order, that agreement won’t help you if the court hasn’t approved it and the other parent makes an issue of your delinquency.

When you let the court know about your financial trouble before you’ve ended up in arrears (missed a payment), your case is more likely to be heard by understanding ears. Explaining that you’ve lost your job or that you need to pay unexpected medical bills should affect the court’s willingness to set up a modified arrangement for child support if it can be structured so that the child and the other parent still get the money they need.

In any event, it’s important to let the court know about any negative changes in your financial circumstances as soon as you realize you might have trouble making payments. Without that reach-out, the court is likely to assume you are refusing to pay child support. That won’t play well.

2. Request a Payment Schedule

If you’re sincere about improving your situation, it’s a good idea to let everyone involved in your case know you want to keep up with your child support. Perhaps the best way to do that is to request a more manageable payment schedule that lowers the amount you owe in your regular payments. That way, your child will continue to receive at least some money.

If you and the other parent can’t mutually agree on lowering your monthly obligation, a sympathetic court might help you do that. Remember: The new payment schedule won’t be legal and binding until the court approves it.

The process varies from state to state, but you’ll have to show that your financial situation has changed for the worse since the original amount of your child support payments was put in place. That likely means you’ll need to provide documents such as W-2s, medical insurance forms or unemployment records. If the parents don’t agree on the amount requested, they’ll make their cases in front of a judge before a decision is made.

If you are already in arrears, the local child support agency can help you figure out how much child support you currently owe and advise you about requesting a modified payment schedule.

3. Private Loans

One way to keep making your child support payments and avoid the consequences of missing them is to take out a private loan. If you’re already in arrears, those extra funds can be used to get caught up and to make it easier to meet future payments as you work through your financial situation.

A loan might be available to you from a bank, a credit union, online lenders or friends or relatives. In many cases, it won’t require collateral, especially if you can convince the lender that you can and will repay the debt.

Of course, that’s the rub. You’ll have to pay back the private loan, probably in monthly installments (plus interest) just like your child support obligation. In effect, you’ll be substituting one expense for another – robbing Peter to pay Paul.

For that reason, a private loan should be a last resort, something to turn to if no other attempt to address your difficulty with child support payments has worked.

4. Settle with the Guardian

You’ll have to let your co-parent (or the child’s legal guardian) know what’s going on in at least some detail because it’s going to affect his or her budget as well. The court-ordered child support your co-parent receives, goes to the care of your child. It’s important that a change in the amount you’ve been providing be managed so that your child’s needs continue to be met.

While your co-parent cannot legally waive or release you from the court-ordered child support obligation (only a judge can change the order), you might be able to work out an arrangement if you need short-term leniency.

If the issue is a larger financial hardship than making your payments for just the next few months, it will become a matter of urgency to obtain a legal modification to your court-ordered child support. Giving your co-parent a heads-up is to your advantage. It might prevent the co-parent from starting legal action against you, and, since both of you will need to provide financial documentation during the review for the modification process, it should speed things up.

In any event, you need to show a good-faith effort to both your co-parent and a judge to pay as much for the care of your child as you can, even if it’s less than the ordered amount. It can prevent larger legal trouble, and it can limit the amount you fall in arrears (and still be responsible for paying). All of this will help you in the long term.

5. Unemployment Benefits

If your inability to keep up with child support is due in part to the loss of a job and you haven’t found another one, filing for unemployment benefits in your state might help you start to catch up. The state will automatically deduct as much as 50% of your unemployment checks and apply it to your child support costs.

The percentage deducted varies from state to state, so it’s worth checking into how much of your monthly child support obligation can be covered through unemployment. It certainly can be a helpful way to manage your money troubles while still providing some funds for the care of your child.

But don’t expect your childcare payments to increase the amount of your unemployment benefits. Child support payments are expenses, while unemployment benefits are determined by what your previous income was.

6. Debt Relief Programs

For people in need, most states offer plans through agencies or grants that can reduce the financial strain of their child support and provide an opportunity to at least partially pay off child support debt accumulated when missed payments pile up.

For example, California’s Compromise of Arrears Program (COAP) helps people who are in arrears by allowing them to make a partial payment toward their debt and have the rest of the debt they owe the government eliminated. The plan works by reducing the amount that can be paid in a lump sum or in monthly payments over three years. There is no charge for the service.

Illinois offers the Clean Slate Program, which removes the debt owed to the state once the paying parent makes six consecutive regular child support payments and agrees to continue making future payments.

In both of those cases, the debt that is eliminated is the portion of support the child has been receiving through public assistance. It’s part of the monthly child support obligation, but technically, it’s money owed to the state rather than to the co-parent.

All of these programs require the parent paying child support to meet qualification standards. Illinois asks for proof that the applicant is unemployed, was in prison or had a serious illness that prevented them from making payments, along with financial documents. California requires accurate information about all income and assets, and the program is only available to people who owe the government $5,000 or more in past-due child support.

Obviously, to get this kind of help, it’s important to be able to prove (and communicate) your financial difficulties to the agency offering it. So, get prepared.

The Office of Child Support Enforcement website lists the agency in each state that has debt compromise policies available.

7. Find Another Source of Income

Two things anyone can do to help themselves out of financial stress is to find a second source of income and/or reduce spending in every category in their budget.

The list of opportunities for a second job is endless. You can be a waiter, delivery person, a tutor, a coach, or a freelancer in many fields. Start a bank account where any money made on the side goes and use that to make child support payments.

The added benefit of a second job is that you have less time to spend money on things like dining out, paying for entertainment or clothes shopping. Try a few more expense-cutting steps like getting a roommate to share rent/utilities/food expenses, using public transportation or walking instead of using a car.

These might feel like drastic steps, but they aren’t nearly as penalizing as defaulting on child support payments.

How to Stop Paying Child Support Legally

There is a legal process for stopping child support payments, but it isn’t easy. Courts operate under the theory that a child’s best interest is served when they are financially stable. Convincing a judge otherwise requires documented evidence that your economic situation has changed, along with a good argument that you need some help, even if it’s just temporary.

You or your lawyer will have to go to the courthouse and file the necessary paperwork seeking a modification. This usually is a simple fill-in-the-blanks sheet. If you’re doing this yourself, you might be able to ask if the court has staff members who can assist with the filing process. However, because family law is tricky, it usually is in your best interest to have a lawyer representing you. If you can’t afford one, visit the local Legal Aid Society and ask for help.

Once your case is filed and you have a court date set to hear your petition for modifying child support payments, you must notify your co-parent of those specifics. At the hearing, you will present your case for stopping child support payments, or at least modifying them to an affordable level.

When you go to court to ask for relief, be sure to have documented evidence that demonstrates why you are unable to afford your monthly obligation. That should include termination papers if you lost a job; paycheck stubs if your pay has been cut; medical receipts if your health has changed; proof of increased expenses because of other bills you owe; and anything else you can put your hands on to show you are in trouble, not running from trouble.

You should be aware that a 2016 update to the Child Support Enforcement Office regulations requires that there be a “substantial change in circumstances” to modify child support.

Any attempt to ignore your obligation to pay is viewed unfavorably by courts. It could result in the custodian parent filing a contempt action that would be extremely costly. You would be liable for more court costs and lawyer’s fees to re-settle your case.

The good news is that there are programs to help pay child support and get yourself back on track. There’s one thing you can do that will surely not help, however, and that is to do nothing.

So, what can you do?

Financial Assistance & Programs to Help Fathers Pay Child Support

Studies show that fathers recognize their obligations to financially support their children. But two circumstances – lack of stable employment and incarceration – often make it difficult for them to fulfill that obligation.

Fathers made up 80% of the 12.6 million noncustodial parents in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau study released in May 2020. A 2016 study for the Department of Health and Human Services showed that almost three-fourths of fathers with child support payments under the national median of $364 per month, were unemployed or in part-time or temporary jobs.

Another 400,000 were in jail and have child support cases ahead of them, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

So, creating job opportunities and training fathers how to advance in the workplace became a focus for government-sponsored programs run by the Office of Child Support Enforcement. The federal government funded 91 such programs in 30 states plus the District of Columbia. Not all the programs were statewide.

With the election of Donald Trump as president and an array of new policy initiatives and funding decisions, much of this data could become irrelevant.

Some of the larger funded programs include the Office of Head Start; the Father Engagement Birth To Five; and the Strong Families Initiative.

The Father Engagement Birth To Five program was born out of the Head Start program. It attempts to get (and keep) fathers engaged in their child’s development at an early age.

The Strong Families Initiative in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sought similar results but focused on families in public housing and multi-family housing projects. Built around health, education and economic empowerment, family-friendly events were staged in those neighborhoods to promote economic opportunity and self-sufficiency for residents.

These programs were designed to help connect low-income, noncustodial parents to new career paths with increased wages and, thus, the ability to provide more support for their children. Getting noncustodial parents connected with jobs is a key to regular support payments.

What to Do When You’re Already Behind on Child Support

Contact the Office of Child Support Enforcement in your state to let them know you’re working on getting a hearing review of your current child support amount, and that you’re actively working on resolving the issue.

Once you have a new child support amount, contact them again and discuss a payment plan and options to help you deal with your back child support. Some states will offer to waive the interest on back child support or will negotiate a debt settlement after a year of consistent payment of your current court-ordered child support. If you’re proactive, there are options available to lessen the burden and help you pay down the debt. Ultimately, that’s the outcome they’d like to see, just like any other creditor.

Most people behind on child support are behind in relatively small amounts. Only 20% of those in arrears owe more than $20,000, but that group represents nearly 65% of the unpaid child support obligation. Data suggests that this usually happens when the parent is incarcerated because the obligation to pay child support doesn’t stop even when the ability to earn an income does. That’s an issue that’s been at the center of attempted reform for years.

It does take time and patience, just like dealing with any other debt, but it can be done.

Navigating Child Support

Here is a free piece of advice: Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re struggling to pay child support. Most of the time, these court decisions are made at a time when we are not in a good state of mind for seeking fairness and long-term manageability.

That is why it’s a good idea to seek out professionals with no personal stake in the proceedings but with a lot of expertise and experience. Engaging a lawyer or financial advisor before a judge makes a ruling can help you obtain a fair ruling. It will also give you a contact, someone familiar with your situation, who can help if you get into difficulty with your payments.

Contact:

• Legal Aid.
• Your state or county’s child support services.
• Online resources such as https://www.askalawyeroncall.com