When you fall behind on child support, it can lead to many financial and legal issues, which is the motivation to stay current on your payments. However, if you are in jail or prison, you may not have the ability to make enough money to pay your ordered support payments.
Your support obligations will not go away, though. Child support is your responsibility to provide financially for your child, so you must pay it eventually. You are still responsible even if you cannot work or make money, so it is essential that you take steps to modify the order if possible.
Get help
According to CNN, some areas offer programs to assist you with your child support. These services may allow you to petition the court for a reduction in your support payments during your incarceration. The court may agree to revise your payments temporarily.
However, you should note that the state does have a minimum support amount. So, it is not likely the court will reduce your payments to nothing. It may reduce them low enough that you can pay enough to keep you out of trouble with overdue payments.
Contact the other parent
You may also be able to negotiate with the other parent to reach an agreement that keeps your account from receiving penalties. The other parent may be willing to work with you because if the court goes after you for non-payment, you may end up spending a longer time behind bars or lose your driver’s license, which will only prolong the issues you have with paying.
