When Support Payments Stop Coming

The Florida Department of Revenue wants to make it easy for divorced parents to pay their child support obligations. They probably presume that the easier they make it to pay, the less effort the Department must expend to ensure that children get their due. To that end, they now offer online payment by credit card or electronic check; payment by Western Union or other money transfer services or even payment by good old snail-mail (although all payments are disbursed to recipients electronically, either by direct deposit or debit card).

You would think, with all those simple payment options, that people would simply pay. Unfortunately, some still do not, necessitating the intervention of the Child Support Enforcement arm of the Department. Employees of this agency take their enforcement duties very seriously. They may start by sending late payment notices but eventually may escalate to actions including:

• Garnishment of wages
• Driver’s license suspension
• Suspension of business and professional licenses or even hunting and fishing licenses
• Interception of income tax refunds, workers comp settlements and unemployment benefits
• Reporting delinquency to credit agencies
• Placing liens against personal property
• Denial of passport
• Legal action that can lead to arrest and incarceration

If you are a parent having difficulty meeting your child support obligations, find out how to avoid such actions. Ask an experienced Florida divorce attorney what you can do to modify your child support payment if your circumstances have changed since the original order was entered.