Thursday, April 28, 2016

Three Ways a Child Support Lawyer Can Help With Collection


Court orders established for the monetary maintenance of your children are generally very straightforward. The non-custodial parent is typically required to pay a specific amount to the custodial parent every month or face legal consequences. Unfortunately, some parents don't routinely follow these orders, or they ignore them altogether. If you're not regularly receiving the money you're due each month, here are three ways a child support lawyer can assist you with collection.

1. Automatic Withholding of Income

In many states, court orders set in place over the custody of minor children are registered directly with the local enforcement agency and then paid out automatically through income withholding from the non-custodial parent's employer. If you're not receiving your payments from the other parent, a child support lawyer can help you register your order with the agency, which will help to relieve a lot of the hassle that comes with collection.

In addition, the local agency can also be utilized to collect any overdue payments by forcing payment of both current and overdue amounts. It's important to note that a judge could potentially reduce the make-up payments so that the non-custodial parent isn't subject to an overwhelming financial burden, but an experienced child support lawyer can help you collect up to 50% of a parent's pay.

2. Withholding of State and Federal Tax Refunds

The IRS can also be an asset for your case if you're not receiving your court-ordered money. A child support lawyer can help you intercept the non-custodial parent's income tax refund once the past-due balance has reached a specific amount or greater. Once again, it's crucial that your court order is registered with the local enforcement agency so that the agency can start the process of notifying the other parent and giving them the chance to pay their balance. If the parent still does not pay, the agency and your attorney can notify the IRS and automatically withdraw the overdue amount from the tax refund.

3. Use of Alternative Methods of Collection

Parents who refuse to pay or ignore court orders face significant consequences. Your local enforcement agency has multiple alternative ways to enforce collection of any money that's overdue. If income or tax refund withholding has failed, then a lien can be placed on the delinquent parent's personal property. This lien will stop the parent from being able to sell property like a car or a home, unless they've first paid what they owe. Another method an attorney can recommend involves revoking the parent's driver's license until they pay. In some cases, your local agency can even place a hold on the parent's personal bank account and force payment before the hold is removed.

Dealing with financial and legal issues when it comes to supporting your children can be difficult and confusing. There are legal actions you can take when a parent who is required to provide you with financial help neglects to pay. An experienced child support lawyer can be a huge help as you navigate through the confusion and attempt to collect what you're owed.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Abraham_Avotina/663190

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