The goal of child support is to create stability in the child’s life after a divorce or separation. Child support payments ensure the child’s daily needs are met. In addition, it ensures that both parents share the responsibility of raising their child. When the child support payments are neglected, it throws the child’s life out of balance.
Not receiving child support is more than just an inconvenience. It affects daily living, future planning, and an already volatile situation. For one parent, it may cause financial difficulties. For another, it may lead to legal problems with far-reaching consequences.
Since child support is court-ordered, it is more than just an issue between two people. It is a legal process with rules and consequences. Knowing how it works and what options are available when it becomes difficult to meet child support obligations can prevent problems from becoming catastrophic.
Child Support Obligations in Florida
Child Support Obligations in FloridaIn the state of Florida, child support is a legal responsibility that is imposed upon both parents. Once the court has made a child support order, the order is effective until it is changed or terminated by the court or the support obligation is terminated under the law.
The child support process in Florida is ordered according to the guidelines. The guidelines are based on the income levels of both parents, the number of children, the expenses, and the time spent with the child. Although the court has the final say in child support cases, the guideline support is considered appropriate.
The child support payments are made through the Florida State Disbursement Unit. This system tracks the payments made to the child and ensures that the payments are made. If the payments are not made, the system will record the missed payments, and the parent will face legal consequences.
One important factor that needs to be remembered is that child support is not reduced when one parent loses their job or when their income is reduced. When the parent is unable to pay the child support, the existing order will remain the same, and the parent will be responsible for the child support until the order is changed.
If the parent is unable to pay the child support, the parent will be responsible for the child support, and the unpaid child support will be treated as arrears. The state of Florida allows the child support to be enforced even years after the child support is due.
Who This Child Support Issue Matters To
The issues surrounding child support involve many people, but they do not involve everyone equally. Understanding who is involved with child support helps explain why missed child support payments matter.
1. Parents Receiving Support
To the parent receiving child support, missed payments can have many negative effects. Child support is intended for things such as rent, food, utilities, school, and medical needs. When child support is late or missing, it can cause financial problems.
However, there is more to child support than just money. When child support is missed, it can also cause stress. Parents receiving support often do not want to get involved in child support issues. Parents receiving support may believe that if they do nothing, the problem will eventually resolve itself. When they do nothing, however, small problems can turn into bigger problems that are harder to resolve.
2. Parents Paying Support
To the parent who pays child support, missed payments may not always be their fault. Sometimes, illness, job loss, or financial problems may cause parents to fall behind on their child support payments. However, child support is court-ordered, and it is assumed that payments should continue unless there is action by one of the parents to change the support amount.
Some parents believe that if they have an unenforceable child support agreement or if they have financial problems, they can stop making child support payments. This is not true. Child support that is missed does not magically disappear. It is considered a debt that must be repaid.
Children are at the heart of all child support cases. When child support is missed, it can affect children.
What Happens When Child Support Payments Stop or Fall Behind
In Florida, child support is a binding court order, so falling behind changes the legal status of the case. A child support payment is considered late or missed when:
- The entire amount is not paid before the due date as indicated in the judgment.
- Only a partial payment is submitted.
- Payments are reduced or paused without court approval.
Informal agreements between parents do not override a court order and, as such, do not provide any legal protection if enforcement is pursued.
Typical Causes of Delays in Payments include:
- Job loss or reduced income
- Medical problems or unforeseen expenses
- Delayed salaries or temporary financial hardship
- Misunderstood child support terms
- The assumption that payments can be modified without the court’s consent
However, the lack of child support does not immediately trigger a consequence, though it does trigger a legal process. The process does escalate, though, after a while.
If a payment is missed, the amount that is now overdue is referred to as an arrear. The arrears continually build in relation to the missed payment. In addition, there can be accrued interest, depending on the state’s laws. However, the arrear does not magically disappear in the event that things improve in the future. The arrear stays in place, regardless of whether the payments resume, unless it is paid in full or changed in some way by the court.
Legal Consequences Can Go Wild
If the arrears continue to accumulate, the consequences can be quite severe. These consequences can include a garnishment of wages, suspension of a tax refund, suspension of a driver’s license, suspension of a professional license, or negative credit reporting. In extreme cases, the court can put the paying parent in contempt. This can lead to a fine, as well as a rare chance of jail time. The jail time is reserved for those who continually fail to pay, though there is a good excuse.
Child support enforcement is often automatic in the states. This means that the state agencies keep track of the payments. Once a payment is missed, the enforcement process can begin without a hearing. This can be a shock to the parent who thinks they have time to catch up on the payments before the enforcement process is triggered.
The truth is, though, that the enforcement process begins on the basis of the payment record alone.
How Child Support Is Enforced
Child support enforcement is a process that is ordered after the initial child support order. Although the details vary from state to state, the overall idea is the same in all places.
1. Income Withholding
The most common form of enforcement is wage withholding. The child support is withheld from the paycheck of the paying parent and sent to the receiving parent or the state agency handling the case.
If the paying parent gets behind on the child support, the amount withheld from the paycheck may be raised to cover the current support and back-owed support. This is often done automatically once back-owed support has reached a certain degree.
2. Tax Refund Intercepts
The federal or state tax refunds may be intercepted to pay back owed child support. This would include joint returns, even though the non-obligated spouse would be able to request a partial return.
This is another common enforcement tool used by the child support enforcement agency, and it is something that will surprise the parents, as the back-owed support has been building up quietly.
3. License Suspension
The licenses of the paying parent, such as a driver’s license, professional license, or any other sport-related license, may be suspended if child support is not paid. The purpose behind this is not punitive, but rather enforcement, but the impact on the paying parent can be significant, especially if it affects employment, which may cause further problems if not resolved quickly.
4. Contempt Proceedings
If the above enforcement measures have failed, the court will schedule a contempt hearing. At this hearing, the judge will determine whether or not the paying parent had the means to pay the child support but chose not to.
If the judge determines that the paying parent did not have the means, then the judge will penalize the paying parent. The judge will always offer the paying parent a chance to avoid the harsher penalty by coming up with a payment plan or paying the child support in a lump sum.
What Parents Should Do If They Can’t Make A Payment
When a parent realizes that they cannot meet the terms of a court-ordered child support, taking action quickly is important. Florida law does not allow parents to adjust the terms of payments by themselves, even temporarily. The entire amount is legally due until the court modifies it. However, there are steps they can take to prevent the situation from escalating into enforcement or contempt proceedings.
1. Seek an Adjustment When the Circumstances Change
Only the court can adjust the amount of child support owed by a parent. If a parent loses a job, their income is reduced, or a serious medical condition occurs, the request to change it should be submitted as soon as possible.
Waiting allows arrears to build up, and the court is unable to retroactively reduce past-due amounts.
Child support cases are usually handled administratively at the initial stage, and if needed, a court may hold hearings. In such proceedings, the court evaluates evidence, carries out findings of fact, and can give a recommended order in light of prevailing financial conditions.
2. Complete Documentation of Financial Hardship
Parents are expected to present full documentation of the reason why payments were not made. This can be termination letters, medical bills, pay stubs, proof of job searches, and other pay-related documents. Such documents play a key role if the case is re-examined by the Department of Revenue or in one of the judicial circuits.
Clear paperwork can help show that a parent did not intentionally neglect the payment of child support, and therefore influence the court to reach favorable conclusions as well as minimize the chances of severe punishment.
3. Avoid ignoring missed payments or notices
Ignoring the problem only adds to the penalties. Arrears continue to accumulate, and enforcement actions become more likely.
Once the case reaches a hearing, the court may assume the parent willfully failed to pay child support unless there is clear evidence to the contrary, and in severe instances, send the parent to jail.
4. Consult An Attorney as Early as You Can
A qualified family law attorney may help parents understand their responsibilities, respond to notices, plan for hearings, and seek relevant changes. Early legal guidance can reduce the risk of aggressive enforcement actions and help structure payments in a manageable way.
How Child Support Problems Can Be Prevented
How Child Support Problems Can Be PreventedThe first preventive measure in child support cases is to set a realistic child support order from the beginning. In most cases, child support orders should be based on current income, a steady ability to earn, and time with the child. Orders based on incorrect or false information are likely to become unmanageable.
Being knowledgeable about financial matters is also important in preventing child support enforcement actions. Being knowledgeable about income and expenses can help parents prevent potential child support problems. In most cases, it is better to deal with a potential problem before it becomes a reality.
Seeking a modification as soon as possible is also important in preventing child support enforcement actions. In Florida, child support orders are not retroactive, meaning that a modification will not take effect before the date of filing. In most cases, parents who wait to file a modification request end up paying much more in arrearages than would have been necessary if the request had been filed sooner.
At Joseph Corey Law, we are on the side of parents on both sides of the equation. We help parents not receiving court-ordered support take the necessary steps to enforce the court order, and we help parents who are making support payments but need to seek a modification of the court order to address a legitimate change in circumstances. We do this in a common-sense, no-nonsense way that is grounded in the law.
Our goal is to educate you on your options and what to expect at every stage of the process. This helps to eliminate confusion and prevent minor issues from becoming major ones.
Finally, being knowledgeable about the child support process can also prevent child support enforcement actions. In most cases, child support enforcement actions result from a parent’s lack of knowledge about how quickly arrearages can accumulate or how the child support enforcement process works.