Child support is a payment made by one parent to another for the care of their children. Generally, this payment goes to the spouse who has the children in their custody more often.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, child support payments are inconsistent in the United States. Though there were approximately 6.3 million custodial parents who were meant to get support at the time of the study in 2011, only 43.4 percent of those involved in the study received support in full. Another 30.7 percent of parents received partial payments, while 25.9 percent of parents received nothing.
Parents who are owed support should seek enforcement
There are several reasons that you should seek enforcement if you are owed child support for your child. To start with, child support helps reduce financial insecurity among both custodial parents and children in their homes. It also helps positively affect family relationships and increases the involvement of noncustodial parents.
On top of this, child support is a court-ordered responsibility. Failing to pay child support when ordered is a violation of that court order and can lead to significant penalties.
If you are owed child support and haven’t received the full amount or any payment at all, reach out. Your attorney can help you ask the court for help so that the other parent is forced to pay or show why they are unable to afford child support. Doing this can help resolve your concerns about child support and get you the child support that’s needed when a lack of payment is a result of a parent’s willful violation of the court order.
