The Deadbeat Issue: Enforcing Child Support in New York

When a couple with children gets divorced, each parent still has a responsibility to help care for and support their children. To ensure that each adheres to this requirement, New york requires the parents to reach a support agreement that formalizes the terms of the support arrangement. This contract specifically outlines each parent’s support obligations and accounts for how often and when these payments must be paid. 

Occasionally, one of the parents will shirk his or her child support obligations. This a serious offense in New York. Because the support of a child is so important and this obligation has been set to a legal contract, the other parent has the right to beseech the court for intervention on this matter. 

A parent who is seeking unpaid support can file a petition with the court to enforce the child support agreement. The legal document a parent will need to file is an Order to Show Cause. Following this, a court will schedule a hearing on the matter. A court has a great deal of leverage in these situations and may order back and future payments and can fine the parent who has not honored the term of the support arrangement. 

If a court finds that the other parent is indeed in violation of the support contract, it may obtain these payments through a number of avenues. These include garnishing the parent’s wages, seizing his or her property, placing a lien on the home or vehicle of the parent, intercepting any tax refunds or even revoking that parent’s license. Further, a delinquent parent can be order to pay additional fines and potentially serve jail time. 

Child support is a serious obligation in New York. For help enforcing a support agreement, meet with the dedicated New York family law attorneys at Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.