Child support helps provide a lesser-earning parent with the financial resources to care for their children adequately. Child support helps cover the costs of raising a child, such as healthcare insurance, education, childcare, food, and clothing. Child support is awarded in all divorce proceedings involving minor children, as well as co-parenting situations. Child support is required and seen as a necessary expense by Florida courts. When a parent fails to pay child support, there are many ramifications. If your ex refuses to pay child support, you have several legal options to compel payment. Below, we discuss how to handle enforcing child support payments.
Understanding Child Support Laws in Florida
Child support is awarded in all divorce cases involving minor children in Florida. During divorce proceedings, child support is negotiated when the time-sharing schedule is created. Child support may also be awarded if a parent requests it in co-parenting situations. The support payment amount and the parent responsible for payment are determined by the parent’s net income and the number of children needing care, using the Income Shares Model detailed in Florida Statute 61.30.
Steps to Enforcing Child Support
You can take action against your ex for not paying child support if they are 15 days past the due date. After this time, you may start the enforcement process by sending a Notice of Delinquency to the other parent. This official notice states that the offending parent is past due on the child support payments and encourages them to pay in full within five days before more legal action is taken. If the other parent fails to respond to the notice and doesn’t pay within 20 days of the due date, you can file a Motion to Enforce with the court. This will hold the parent in contempt of court, which can have financial and legal consequences.
Ways to Enforce Child Support
If the parent refuses to make a child support payment and it’s determined that the parent has the financial means to do so, several methods can be utilized to compel payments:
Payment Plan
The first option is to have the parent make a payment plan with the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) if they cannot pay in one lump sum. This allows the parent to make small payments over a longer timeframe if they face financial difficulties. If the parent is in between jobs or experiencing unemployment, child support payments may be delayed up to 60 days.
Income Withholding
The DOR may request that the parent’s employer withhold the past-due child support from the employee’s paycheck. The employer gives the money directly to DOR, who will submit the payments to you. Various income types can be garnished, including salaries, commissions, bonuses, self-employment income, tax refunds, insurance settlements, and severance.
License Suspension
The government could suspend the offending parent’s driver’s license if they’re more than 90 days behind on their support payments. If the parent holds other professional or recreational licenses, such as a doctor’s or a hunting license, those may also be suspended.
Property Liens
A lien may be placed on their property if a parent owes more than $600 in child support. Liens can be placed on any property valued over $2,500, like cars, boats, RVs, and real estate property.
Automatic Bank Withdrawal
When other methods to get a parent to pay what they owe in child support have failed, the DOR may have the parent’s bank deduct child support payments directly from their checking or savings account.
Passport Denial
If a parent owes more than $2,500 in child support payments and attempts to apply for or renew their passport, it will be denied until the child support is paid.
Criminal Charges
If the parent owes over $2,500, a warrant will be placed for their arrest. They could be charged with a felony and subject to fines and jail time.
Child Support Enforcement: Know Your Legal Options
Failing to pay child support is a serious offense with many harsh consequences. The government may employ any of the above methods to ensure you can get the financial resources you need to support your children. If you’re co-parenting with someone who has failed to pay child support, contact our team at the Remsen Family Law Firm to discuss the best options for you to make the other parent pay. Contact our office today to learn more about your options.
