Taking on the responsibility of raising and supporting a child to adulthood is no small task. Parents now face the new and expensive demands of providing their children with the latest technology and the opportunity to participate in a number of extracurricular activities. Meeting these financial demands is difficult in a two-income household, but for single parents, the struggle is much more acute, which is why child support is so essential to financial stability. This obligation to provide ongoing financial support to a child until he or she becomes an adult exists whether the parents are married or not, and most divorced parents freely accept that they must pay child support as part of this duty.

However, the unfortunate reality is not all parents pay child support regularly, so parents who have primary responsibility for a child need to understand how to enforce child support orders. One option available to compel compliance with a child support order is to ask the court to hold the delinquent parent in contempt. One father recently learned the danger of ignoring obligations set out in a divorce decree after the Indiana Supreme Court ruled he could be held in contempt for failing to produce documentation of his income for purposes of calculating child support. In addition to contempt, Indiana law offers several other methods a parent and the court can employ to induce compliance with a child support order. A discussion of the enforcement measures used to ensure child support is paid will follow below.

Income Withholding Order

The first line of offense used to collect child support payments is through an income withholding order. This court order requires the employer of a parent obligated to pay child support to automatically withhold the required amount and submit the funds to the State’s collection agency. These orders go into effect 14 days after the employer receives a copy of the order and remain in effect until the employee’s child support obligation is terminated. Note that while child support typically ends when the child turns 19, if arrearages are still outstanding at that time, the parent owed the child support can request the court to order the other parent’s employer to continue withholding child support until the parent fully satisfies the overdue amount. Further, if the employee is due a lump sum payment, such as a bonus, commission or accumulated vacation time, a portion of that money must be withheld, subject to federal limitations on wage garnishment, to cover a portion of the overdue support.

License Suspension

If a parent becomes behind on support by three months or $2,000, a court has the option of asking the Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend the parent’s’ driver’s license or refuse to issue one if the parent does not currently hold a driver’s license. Additionally, the court may order the suspension of professional licenses for people such as teachers, attorneys, and gaming purveyors to compel these individuals to clear the delinquency.

Contempt

Finally, the parent entitled to child support can petition the court to hold the delinquent parent in contempt for willfully violating a court order. The court will then ask the delinquent parent to appear and explain why he or she has not paid child support. If the parent fails to respond, the court can issue a bench warrant for arrest and require the parent to pay an amount into escrow to secure release from jail. The escrow amount is the overdue child support if less than $500 or anywhere between $500 up to the full amount in arrears if the overdue amount is above $500. If the parent still fails to comply with order to pay child support, the money in escrow will be paid to the parent receiving support. If the parent is unable to post the escrow amount, he or she is entitled to a hearing to explain why, within 48 hours of arrest. If the court later determines the parent is not in arrears, or owes less than the escrow amount, the overage is refunded.

Talk to a Family Law Attorney

If you count on child support, but are not receiving it, talk to family law attorney about how to get the money owed to you. Christopher L. Arrington represents clients in the Indianapolis area in a number of family law matters, and will use all available legal means to collect overdue payments. Contact him to schedule an appointment today.