Are you having trouble receiving court ordered child support payments in New Mexico? Find out how New Mexico can help enforce child support payments when a parent refuses to pay.
Parents are obligated to financially support their children – this responsibility doesn’t end after divorce or separation, and it must be honored even if a parent isn’t allowed to spend regular time with his or her child. Parents that try to avoid their child support responsibilities (“deadbeat parents”) may face serious consequences. One consequence is that a parent may be found in “contempt of court” and face fines and possibly jail time for failing to follow a child support order.
In this article we explain how to enforce child support orders in New Mexico. If you have further questions about obtaining and enforcing child support orders after reading this article, please contact a local Albuquerque family lawyer.
Summary of Child Support Requirements
Although both parents are responsible for financially supporting their children, only one parent will pay child support after paternity and child support has been determined by a paternity order, child support order or divorce decree. Typically, the parent that does not have primary physical custody with the child will pay child support, also known as the noncustodial parent.
The paternity order, child support order, or divorce decree will determine how much child support needs to be paid by the noncustodial parent. A parent’s responsibility to pay child support continues until the court order is changed by the court or the child turns 18 and graduates from high school in the year they were expected to graduate. Learn more about how much child support parents must pay in New Mexico.
Getting a Child Support Order
If you don’t already have a child support order, you may contact your local child support agency for assistance or hire a private attorney to go to court on your behalf and ask a judge to order child support to be paid by your child’s other parent. You can also agree to an amount without going to court by reaching an agreement with your child’s other parent. No matter which choice you make, it is important to understand that a judge will have to review the amount of child support and approve it by entering it as a final order before it is enforceable by the court.
The Albuquerque Child Support Enforcement Division, or CSED, can help parents both obtain a child support order and enforce an existing order. Click here to learn more about CSED by visiting the New Mexico Human Services Department’s website.
Services provided by CSED include:
- establishment of child support
- income withholding
- locating parents
- parentage and child support enforcement.
Child Support Order Enforcement
Once a parent has been ordered by the court or by CSED to pay child support, that parent is required to pay support to the other parent that has custody of the child. If the parent chooses not to follow the child support order and pays less than the ordered amount of support, the parent not paying child support may be found in contempt of court or subject to other penalties designed to obtain payment.
To start a child support enforcement proceeding, you may either hire an attorney to represent you and present your evidence to a judge, or you can request that CSED accept your case and pursue enforcement on behalf of your child.
If you wish to go to court yourself, you will need to file legal paperwork with the court. Different counties in New Mexico require different forms; however, many counties do have child support enforcement forms available at the courthouse.
Once you have filed your paperwork with the court and served/provided the other parent with copies of the paperwork, you will have your hearing before a judge. Both parents will be expected to attend the hearing. If you have more questions about what forms need to be filed, you should speak with a local family attorney.
Alternatively, you can allow CSED to represent your child in court. If you choose this option, an employee or attorney will work on your child’s case.
Enforcement Actions
So, what happens when a parent simply refuses to pay child support? CSED and New Mexico family law judges have many options when deciding how to enforce child support and obtain payments. These options include:
- garnishing the parent’s wages/income
- taking or placing liens on the non-paying parent’s property (cars, homes, etc.)
- suspending or revoking the parents’ occupational or professional licenses
- suspending the parent’s driver’s license and/or passport
- tax refund interception
- reporting parents that owe child support to credit agencies.
Judges can also require parents that refuse to pay child support to attend court and may find that parent in contempt of court. Contempt of court essentially means that the parent has disobeyed a judge’s order. If a parent is found to be in contempt of court, the judge can order the parent to pay a fine and/or spend time in jail.
