What Happens if a Parent Ignores the Child Support Payment Duties?

Final Notice DocumentLet’s get this out of the way first: if you can’t pay your child support the first thing you should do is contact a child support attorney. SLO clients who can’t make their payments (for whatever reason) should give Hosford & Hosford a call today at (805) 439-1906. The one thing you don’t want to do is just stop making your payments. There is a huge list of negative outcomes that we discuss below that can often be avoided. So make sure you contact us so that we can help.

Hosford & Hosford has over 35 years of experience in family law and has successfully represented hundreds of clients get the results that they want from their divorce and child support cases. We are proud of the reputation that we have as some of the hardest working and toughest fighting attorneys in all of California. If you want a lawyer at your side that you can trust and you know will always advocate passionately for you, call our SLO office today at (805) 439-1906.

After you call us, the first step is for us to meet with you and learn more about your unique circumstances. From there we’ll discuss your goals for your case. We use the details of these meetings to develop a custom strategy to get you the best possible outcome. Contact us today at (805) 439-1906.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay Your Child Support?

As we said above, if you are unable to pay your child support, it’s highly advisable that you contact a child support attorney. SLO clients can give Hosford & Hosford a call at (805) 439-1906.

Whether it’s because you’ve lost your job, your hours have been reduced, your expenses have increased, or your pay has been reduced, the very best thing that our attorneys can do is talk to the court. The only way to get your child support payments reduced is through the court. The original amount of child support is determined based on how much money you make so if that has changed, going to the courts and explaining it to them is a fantastic first step.

Do NOT make a verbal agreement with your former spouse or the custodial parent of your children. Verbal agreements may be difficult to prove, and they also may not hold up in court which is exactly why you should call a child support attorney.

SLO parents who simply stop paying their child support could be subjected to the following consequences.

  • Wage garnishment – The Office of Child Support Services has enormous power and can simply take your child support directly out of your paycheck.
  • Income return interception – Child support can be deducted from any money you get back from the IRS after taxes.
  • Loss of your driver’s license.
  • Jail time – Missing child support payments can leave you in contempt of court which carries jail time.

As you can see, the consequences for not paying child support can add up very quickly–especially if you don’t have a good child support attorney. SLO parents should call Hosford & Hosford immediately if you aren’t able to make your payments so we can contact the court on your behalf and see if we can get your payments reduced. Give us a call today at (805) 439-1906.