If there’s anything more challenging than being a parent, it’s being a single parent. In addition to facing all of the daily stresses that come with such a role alone, there’s the concern of how your children are going to be financially cared for. While the law is on your side in terms of child support, the reality is it can be a challenge to receive the money you’re owed. A non-custodial parent can avoid making these payments if he or she desires to do so, and they’ll be successful if you don’t contact an enforcement agency for help.
There are occasions when a non-custodial parent may delay, reduce, or terminate mandated support payment obligations legally. But according to collected data, thousands of non-custodial parents are deliberately not making support paymentsoutside of these reasons. As a result, in the United States alone, billions of dollars in back support are owed — a situation that is worsening with time.
Since sole custodial parents usually only work part time, most work at jobs below potential earning level, so this second source of support is essential to their family. And the law is certainly sympathetic to a custodial parent’s plight. While approaches vary among jurisdictions, all divorce and family courts have penalties for non-custodial parents in arrears of support, ranging from loss of a driver’s license to incarceration. But first of course, the scofflaw parent must be tracked down, and there are a number of ways in which such parents can stay off of official radars.
Parents trying to avoid paying support are correct that it’s difficult for overburdened agencies to track them down. But custodial parents have another option for getting the support payments that their families deserve. They can hire a private child support enforcement agency. Learning how child support collection works is easy. An agency can:
- help file court papers and attend hearings
- keep custodial parents abreast of their rights as well as any changes to these rights
- track and locate non-custodial parents
- enforce payments by garnishing wages and placing liens on property
Statistics show that many non-custodial parents in arrears are still making at least partial support payments. Their reasons for “reducing” these payments range from a change in income to a dispute of the amount that they’re required to pay. Specialists at private support collection agencies can be helpful in negotiating altered sums that still support the minor children while being amounts that are manageable to non-custodial parents.
And unlike the fees charged by a private investigator, the charges of working with such an agency are affordable. And unlike a straightforward collections agency, a support collection one is bonded, licensed, and accredited with organizations like the Child Support Enforcement Council, which means that all actions on the custodial parent’s behalf are professional and legal.
It’s not an easy task being an single parent and adding money issues to this challenge doesn’t help. But with the right kind of enforcement support, getting that financial support becomes much easier. Contact an enforcement agency and get the money you’re due.
