It is important that child support orders are enforced so that children can receive the financial support that they need. Child support enforcement may come up as an issue of concern for parents which is why they should be familiar with the methods of child support enforcement available to collect child support.
What are child support enforcement methods?
Child support enforcement methods can include administrative enforcement actions that may take the form of automatic wage withholding of the non-custodial parent’s wages; driver’s or professional license suspension; tax refund intercepts; lottery winnings intercepts; and reporting to credit bureaus. If administrative enforcement actions are unsuccessful and non-paying parent who owes child support may also face a contempt of court proceeding. An agent from the Division of Child Support Services assigned to collect the back due child support will determine how it should be collected.
It is understandable that some parents may face challenges paying their child support. There is a process in place through the family law court to request a child support modification. Either the paying parent or the recipient parent may make that request. It is important to promptly pursue a modification request if the parent believes one is needed. The request must be made in writing and the reviewer may decide to increase or decrease the child support or it may be left the same.
Child support serves an important purpose for the care and maintenance of the child for whom it is intended. For that reason, it is helpful for parents to understand the range of options available when attempting to collect child support and what child support enforcement measures are available.
