What to do When Child Support Payments Stop
For many single parents, child support is an essential source of financial stability after a divorce. If you or someone you love has gone through the divorce process and received an award of child support from an ex-spouse, you probably know firsthand that this is true. After all, a divorce means going from two incomes to one and one set of bills to two. As a result, it’s understandable that to continue to care and provide for your children, child support is not only nice but necessary.
This leads to the question – what happens when child support payments stop? What happens when one parent has been ordered to pay child support and doesn’t do so? Unfortunately, this happens far more often than it should. If you find yourself in this situation, you should know you have legal rights. Let’s take a closer look at those rights and what you can do regarding enforcing child support.
A Look at the Law on Child Support
As you may already know, if you have been receiving or paying child support, there are two ways that child support obligations can be established in North Carolina.
Establishing Child Support Payments by Agreement
In North Carolina and all across the country, many couples are choosing to address their divorce-related issues almost entirely outside of court. This can include establishing child support obligations. Resolving issues by agreement often saves time and money and reduces stress. It also gives the parties a great deal of freedom and flexibility to find solutions to their issues that truly work best for their family.
When it comes to child support, although the law may require a certain child support obligation, those who choose to resolve support by agreement are not bound by the amount that the law requires. The parties can agree to any amount that they feel is best. After they have done so, they will sign and submit the agreement to a court for approval, and the agreement will be binding until and if the parties or the court later modifies it.
Establishing Child Support Payments by Court Order
In some cases, for any number of reasons, the parties may not be able to agree on child support outside of court. In that case, the second option is to submit the matter to the court for a decision and entry of an order.
In North Carolina, the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines govern the calculation and amount of child support to be paid from one parent to the other each month. When determining a child support obligation, a court will base its calculations on these guidelines, other than for certain exceptions, one being if the parents’ combined income exceeds $360,000 per year. In those cases, courts may review a variety of other factors and make a determination based on the standard of living of the family and other considerations.
The guidelines include worksheets to assist parents, the court, and their attorneys with the calculation of possible child support obligations. Regardless of which worksheet is used, the gross income of each parent will be determined, and then a deduction will be taken for any children that the parents already pay support for or live with. A monthly child support amount will be determined using these various figures and information.
Length of Obligation
In North Carolina, as a general rule, a parent’s legal obligation to provide support continues until the child reaches 18 years of age. However, if the child is still in high school, North Carolina General Statutes 110-129(2) and 50-13.4(c) provide for the extension of child support until such time as the child graduates or otherwise stops attending school regularly, fails to make satisfactory academic progress, or reaches the age of 20, whichever happens first.
What happens, though, when a parent stops paying support – either determined by agreement, or ordered by a court, before the time required by law? In these cases, enforcement may be necessary.
The North Carolina Child Support Enforcement Agency
In North Carolina, the North Carolina Child Support Enforcement Agency, or CSE, has been given authority by the legislature to collect current and past-due child support as necessary. This is one method of enforcing child support in North Carolina when payments have stopped unfairly. To do this, CSE may use a variety of enforcement options, including:
- Placing liens on the personal and real property of the non-paying parent
- Seizing the bank accounts of the non-paying parent
- Garnishing unemployment benefits, disability benefits, or wages
- Revoking the non-paying parent’s driver’s license, professional licenses, or recreational permits
- Intercepting the non-paying parent’s federal or state tax refunds
- Filing a contempt action in court, and
- A variety of other remedies, depending upon the circumstances involved.
There are also criminal penalties available for those who do not pay child support as required. If a parent is found guilty of the misdemeanor regarding non-support, they may be fined, imprisoned for up to six months, or both.
Making a Modification
Although a variety of enforcement options are available and should be used when necessary, it’s also important to recognize that sometimes, a parent doesn’t stop making their support payments because they simply don’t want to. After all, most parents do love their children and want to support them – and divorce doesn’t change that.
Sometimes, for any number of reasons, life circumstances arise that make payment of support obligations difficult, at least for a time. Some of these circumstances might include job loss, a health-related issue, family difficulties, or other similar situations. When these situations arise, instead of simply stopping the payment of support, the spouse who is struggling should instead seek modification of the support obligation, if possible.
Suppose the couple agreed on the child support obligation outside of court. In that case, the non-paying spouse may first want to attempt to communicate with the other parent to see if changing the support obligation is possible, at least temporarily. If the parties can agree to the modification and work together, this may be the best possible option.
In other circumstances, if the parties cannot agree on a modification together, the non-paying spouse may want to seek modification from the court. Modification requests are not always granted, but it is a possibility that’s worth pursuing, depending upon the circumstances involved. It is certainly a better option than simply stopping support without any explanation.
Often, after a modification, the non-paying spouse may get through their difficult circumstances and will be able to resume payments again. If they can do so, this may be the best choice for everyone involved.
The Law Office of Dustin McCrary – Here For You and Your Child
At the Law Office of Dustin McCrary, we know how much you love your children. We know that you want to do all you can to protect them and provide for them, particularly after a difficult divorce. We also understand that when payments stop, enforcing child support can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to help. We know and understand every aspect of the divorce process, and whatever issue you are facing, whether it’s related to child support or otherwise, we are here for you. We’re passionate about helping our clients face difficult divorce issues with optimism and hope for the future. If you need help, we’re here for you and only a phone call away. If you’re ready to get started, reach out to us today. We look forward to helping you soon.