When a couple decides to divorce, it is imperative that the children of both parties receive adequate support, including timely payment of required child support ordered by either a divorce decree or an amicable separation agreement awarded by the courts, if applicable, and that these payments continue to be made until the child reaches 18 years old.
There are several methods that can be employed to collect back child support payments owed to you. Those methods are featured here in this article. Keep reading to learn exactly how you can collect the child support payments you are owed.
Enforcement and Collection of Child Support
The court will either mandate or agree to have one parent provide a certain amount of support for the other parent's child(ren) through a judgment in a divorce decree or separation agreement. Enforcing child support judgments and/or collecting overdue child support payments can be done using various means, including the following:
- Obtaining court orders to withhold or garnish wages of the non-custodial parent.
- Intercepting the non-custodial parent's tax refund.
- Placing liens on the non-custodial parent's property.
- Holding the non-custodial parent in contempt of court.
- Hiring a collection agency to collect the child support.
- Revoking the non-custodial parent's driver's and/or professional licenses.
- Pursuing interstate collection of child support via federal law
- Withholding the wages of the non-custodial parent.
Since 1994, the wages of non-custodial parents have been automatically deducted for the payment of overdue child support.
Additionally, employers may now receive written orders from either the court or government to withhold wages as payment for overdue child support. Although the increase in such practices may result in increased costs to employers, there are laws against employers discriminating against their employees based on such practices, and therefore this is an effective method of collecting past due child support payments so long as the non-custodial parent is not frequently switching jobs or otherwise losing employment.
Tax Refund Interceptions
State and federal governments are also authorized to intercept tax refunds in order to collect overdue child support payments.
This method will only be useful if the non-custodial parent is entitled to a significant tax refund, and, as it would only happen once per year, if the non-custodial parent has remarried. As such, the non-custodial parent's new spouse would be able to keep their entire tax refund.
Liens on Property
If the non-custodial parent defaults on their child support payments, the state in which the non-custodial parent resides may put a lien against their property (e.g., real estate, vehicles, etc.). A lien is placed on property as a method for satisfying any outstanding debt an individual may owe to another person.
To satisfy an outstanding debt to the state or to a custodial parent in the event of a child support default, the lien must be "foreclosed," or the encumbered property sold, and the proceeds distributed according to the lien.
Contempt of Court
if either parent is not in good standing as a provider of child support, he/she may be found in contempt of court by failure to comply with the a divorce decree or other agreement requiring child support payment.
Any custody or child support payor who disobeys a court order can be brought before a court for contempt by the appropriate Custodial Parent or state child support office. A judge can impose fines against a non-compliant non-custodial parent as well as sentence them to serve time in jail for their failure to follow a court order.
Collection Agencies
When deemed appropriate, a custodial parent may wish to retain the services of a collection agency to enforce collection of past due child support payments from the non-custodial parent. Many collection agencies will apply the same methods used to collect other types of debts; however, many collection agencies require that a percentage of any amounts collected be paid to the agency as a "contingency fee" for their services.
Suspension/Revocation of Driver's and Professional Licenses
Another method for enforcing child support payment methods is by requiring a non-custodial parent to pay the child support due before allowing the parent to obtain/renew a driver’s license, professional license, etc.
Non-custodial parents who are delinquent in making child support payments are subject to the suspension/revocation of their driver's and/or professional licenses. Although the process may be state specific, suspending/revoking licenses is considered one of the fastest and most effective methods of enforcing the obligation to pay child support since it is an administrative process and completed quickly.
Interstate Enforcement and Collection
In order to improve the collection and enforcement of child support from the non-custodial parent's residence in one state to the custodial parent's residence, all 50 states have adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), which was approved by the American Bar Association on October 12, 1993, and recognizes child support orders issued in another state as valid and enforceable in the state of residence.
Even though there was little consistency between the states’ child support laws which historically allowed some non-custodial parents to move to another state or country to escape the jurisdiction of a child support order from their original state, in 1994, Congress enacted the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act (FFCCSOA), which works in conjunction with UIFSA and promotes uniform enforcement of child support orders across state lines, prevents child support disputes between states, and avoids the competing jurisdictional issues between states.
Final Thoughts on Child Support Payment Enforcement
If you need assistance with in Albuquerque with custody disputes, Albuquerque back child support collection, or enforcing a child support order from the New Mexico Second Judicial District Court, please contact the Law Office of Anthony Griego, LLC. Our team specializes in New Mexico family law, including the collection of back child support, and is here to help. Give us a call today at 505-508-3110!
