Just because you aren’t in a relationship with your child’s other parent doesn’t mean that you don’t have to support your offspring. The state’s child support laws are set up to ensure that noncustodial parents are covering some of the expenses of raising the child. Because your children deserve your support, you shouldn’t try to shirk these payments. Plus, you can face serious penalties if you don’t make them as the court orders. We can help you learn about your responsibilities in these matters.
Parents who work for an employer have it easy in a way. Their child support payments are usually taken directly out of their paycheck and sent to the state. The money is then disbursed to the custodial parent to use as they see fit for the child. In this case, you never see the money, so you don’t have to worry about using it for something else. You do need to ensure that it is coming out of your check as ordered by the court.
When you are self-employed or don’t have an employer that does the automatic withholding, you will have to ensure you make the payments yourself. Owing arrears in child support is a serious matter because there are harsh consequences for failing to pay.
We can help you find out about your options for having orders modified if you are unable to make your child support payments due to a qualifying reason, such as job loss. Remember that you want to get the modification petition filed as quickly as possible.
