Child support is a legal responsibility to provide for your children if you and their other parent are no longer together. If child support payments are not being made, there may be steps you can take to get them reinstated. This blog post will discuss ten things you can do if the other parent is not paying child support.
- First, ask the other parent to pay for child support. If you are worried about confrontation or angering them further, try having this conversation over text messaging or email first. Make sure that you have your parenting plan handy to see what is expected of them in terms of these payments. You may also want to highlight where it states that child support is to be paid in the plan.
- If you have already asked the other parent to pay for child support and they have refused or ignored your request, you can take legal action. This includes filing a petition with the court or hiring an attorney to help get the payments reinstated. Depending on your situation, you may also be able to get help from the government to enforce child support payments.
- You can also try communicating with the other parent about the missed payments. This could be done to work out a payment plan or come up with a solution that is agreeable to both of you. If this fails, you can always go back to taking legal action.
- If you have a good relationship with the other parent, you may want to try and negotiate the amount of child support that is paid. This can be done by sitting down and coming up with a plan that outlines how much money should be sent each month and when it should be sent. You can also agree to adjust this payment plan in the future if it is needed.
- If you have a good relationship with the other parent, you may want to try and negotiate an alternate form of payment that works for both of you. For example, they can watch your child while you work so that every two weeks, your paycheck goes toward their support rather than yours. They could also babysit your child once a week so that you can work an extra shift and put more money towards the payments.
- If the other parent has remarried, they may ask their new spouse for help with paying for these monthly expenses. This is done by going over the specific terms of this agreement is a legal document known as a marital settlement agreement. This document can also be used to divide up other assets and debts between you and the other parent.
- If the other parent cannot pay for child support, you may want to consider taking on a second job to make up the difference. You could also try asking family or friends for help with expenses.
- If you have trouble making ends meet because of missed child support payments, you can apply for government assistance. This includes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). You can also look into free or low-cost health care options in your area.
- You may be able to get the payments backdated if you can prove that they were not made. This means that money will be owed from a specific date and may include retroactive support as well as interest charges on those funds.
- Finally, there is always the option of hiring an attorney to help negotiate child support payments or go over your case with the court. This is an excellent idea if you feel overwhelmed or confused about the process.
Here at SaveULegal, we can help you out with your child support cases. Contact us today for help.
About the Author:
Kim Hemphry is a passionate expert in the areas of Legal Matters, learning and education. She has been featured on over 50 leading Legal and education sites and is a modern thought leader in the field. More about her interests and articles on her site – http://kimhemphry.com/
