Should You Get the Courts Involved in Your Child Support Situation?

If your spouse is not paying mandated child support, you may need to get the courts involved. You will need to prove that your ex-spouse isn't making any effort to satisfy the court-mandated payments. Normally, you will have to establish a pattern of this type of behavior for six months before law enforcement gets involved. At this point, a county sheriff will begin enforcement child support or will make sure that the payments are garnished from an individual's wages.

If child support is not being paid through wage execution or through the probation department, then you have the right to file a motion in court for enforcement. In some cases, filers will have to pay a filing fee to get the motion underway, but the fee is typically not exorbitant. If an ex isn't willing to pay the child support, then the law enforcement will first attempt to reason with the parent.

If this does not work, then the court will explore using other methods. This may even mean trying to suspend the ex-spouse's professional license so that he or she cannot work until making an effort to pay all outstanding child support obligations. The court can also take away a parent's driver's license, seize tax refunds, and garnish wages. In extreme cases, a deadbeat parent can be prosecuted and thrown in jail for his or her crime.

Investigators will try to determine whether or not a non-paying parent is doing so because he or she cannot afford the expenses, or if the parent is just being stingy with his or her money. If you want to learn more about this type of child support situation, talk with a reliable and hardworking Los Angeles family lawyer at Claery & Hammond today!

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