Parents are responsible for providing for their child’s needs, like housing, food, clothes and education. When parents are divorced, child support payments are generally calculated based on their income and how much time they each spend with the child. Income includes wages, salary, bonuses and other items.
Child support overview
The court will issue a child support order and both parents are required to comply with it. In addition to paying for the child’s basic expenses, the court may also require the parents to pay for health insurance, childcare, and other costs like extracurricular activities, medical bills and travel.
If the parents experience a change in circumstances, such as a significant increase or decrease in their income or a change in the child custody arrangement, they can request a child support modification.
Enforcement
If a parent does not pay child support, they can face serious consequences. The court has several options for enforcement. One of the most common methods of enforcement is wage garnishment. This means that the non-paying parent’s employer is ordered to deduct child support payments from their paycheck and send them to the state’s child support division.
The non-paying parent’s tax refunds can be intercepted and applied to any child support amount owed, their bank account can be frozen until the child support is paid and they can lose their driver’s license and passport until they pay.
In more serious situations, they may face contempt of court and misdemeanor charges, which can result in fines and jail time.