Advice on Collecting on Delinquent Child Support - The Bills.com Blog

My son's father did not pay child support this month. What is my recourse? He owes $9975.00 from back pay and he is required to pay $757.00 a month. Do I go to child support services or the court to enquire where my October payment is? The non custodial parent lives in Los Angeles as I do and works for his family and also lives with his parents. When is the exact day of the month the support is due? The end of the month is nearing and I usually get the money by the 15-18th. Thank you. Regina Stewart

I do not know the details of your child support court order and therefore, cannot tell you the due dates. You should contact your state’s child support enforcement agency and report the same.

My husband wants to help pay for his daughter's online college courses. He owes back child support and is paying in the arrears through a court order; my question is, if he sells his 401k, which he had only just started about a year ago, would it go directly towards his child support or would he receive it directly.

Generally speaking, one cannot "sell" a 401k. I assume that your husband is considering cashing out his 401k savings to fund his daughter's college education. I doubt that the state agency responsible for enforcing child support obligations would be able to seize your husband's 401k disbursement funds directly from the plan provider; however, if he deposits those funds into a bank account, the money may be fair game and easily seized to pay his back child support. That said, if he has already worked out a plan to repay his delinquent support payments and he has made all plan payments are required, I would be surprised if the state continued to aggressively enforce his past-due child support obligations. Even if your husband can take money out of his 401k safely, he should realize that he may lose a large portion, in some cases 30% or more, of the balance in his account, due to penalties and tax liabilites charged on the money in his 401k. I almost always tell people that taking an early withdrawal from a 401k account is a poor financial decision due to the amount of money often lost in taxes and penalties Many companies allow employees to borrow money against their 401k accounts rather than actually withdrawing funds; your husband should check with his employer to deetermine if taking out a loan is an option rather than actually withdrawing from his 401k account.

Ex has paid 50.00 this month instead of 840. Says he lost his job in January. I was never notified. How can I get him to pay the rest. He makes $2500 house pymt and $800 a month truck payments. He has a Masters Degress and is a Radiology Tech.

You have only one alternative, and that is to go back to court, and show proof your payments is not being paid. This is his problem and he is bound by law to figure out a way, to provide the financial assistance ordered and agreed to, at the time of your divorce. It is difficult I know, however you have to do whatever it takes to care for your children. Inform him you will be taking him back to court, unless payment is made. If he refuses for whatever reason, contact your attorney or a legal aid expert through the Aid to Children Agency in your town. Good Luck!

I am in the process of a divorce. I filed in early January. My husband was hiding for 3 months. He then presented himself and he also obtained an attorney. He has not helped in any way shape or for the support of our three children. It has now been 5 months and I'm still waiting for a cour date. Will he owe back child support from the date he left our home? He recently took our son and will not return him. He changed his school without authorization to do so and he claims that having our son will keep him from having to pay me child support. Is this true?

Pamela, you will need to state the facts and present your case in the divorce court to explain to them exactly what has happened. I am not an attorney so I cannot really comment on the laws pertaining to child custody. You should seek help of a divorce attorney.

I have a child support order and am suppose to receive $675 a month. The father of my children is $26,000 in arrears. We appeared in court last April and he did not have a job. The judge has rescheduled the next court date to August. What else can I do since the judge will not lock him up? I am constantly in the court offices and nothing is being done. I need help!

Most states have a child support enforcement agency, which is separate from the family courts which actually issue child support orders. You have probably been assigned a case worker who should be able to assist you in enforcing your ex's delinquent child support--for example, the state may be able to levy his bank account, garnish his wages, or seize property to pay this debt. In addition, the state may be able to suspend his driver's license until he pays this debt. I understand that it is frustrating, but you must understand that the judge likely does not want to put your ex in jail for non-payment, because such action rarely benefits anyone--if your ex is in jail, he cannot work, and therefore there is no way that he will be able to pay his back child support. You can visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/extinf.html to find a link to the child support enforcement agency in your state. Finally, if you think that your ex is hiding assets and lying to the court about his ability to pay, you may want to hire a lawyer to assist you in pursuing this obligation; an experienced attorney is more likely to know where to look for hidden money and how to convince the judge that your ex is able to pay more than he claims he can afford. However, if your ex is really not working, then you are probably going to be fighting an uphill battle, at least until he finds a job. As they say, you can't squeeze blood from a turnip, and if your ex really cannot afford the payments at this time, you may be forced to suffer financially along with him until he is able to find work. Ｉwish you the best of luck in resolving these issues.

My ex had his employer terminate his employment and hire him as an Independent Contrator so that he could hide his income. Is there anything I can do?

You will need the help of an attorney. You will have to go back to court and state the facts (if you can prove them).

I lost my job and notified DCSS. They sent me a letter stating I had to file with the court, they would not do it because the case was less than two years old. I filed with the court, they kicked it back because of font size. I filed again and they added 2 more weeks to the 2 months for 'notification' time. So I had no job and they say I owe $10,722 for the period I had no income! Now I am in arrears and now way to get out! What can I do?

Child support is court order for non- or partial-custodial parents to pay for the support of their children. The court will understand if the parent is out of work and is looking for work actively. Your situation is a common one. Most counties have non-profit or county-supported agencies that offer low-income (and if you have no job, you probably qualify as low-income) people legal assistance. I suggest you take all of your legal paperwork regarding your divorce and support order to an attorney and ask him or her to file a notice with the court that you are unemployed, and that you will file another notice with the court as soon as you are employed and can restart your payments. You can work your way out of this.