Consistent child support payments are important not just for the parent receiving the payments, but for the health and well being of the child or children. Missed child support payments can seriously impact the life of a child and it is important to make sure overdue payments are collected.
The first step to take when looking to collect overdue child support is tracking and writing down each missed payment or partial payment. Your attorney will need this information to file a petition or motion for enforcement of child support and to help you navigate child support collections. Parents who are missing payments should jot down exactly what was missed.
From that point, the next step is to schedule a court appearance to present the request to the court. The court will review the evidence of missed payments or partial payments and may find the owing parent “in contempt” and order them to pay the amount owed. The judge may also garnish wages—or determine that a certain amount of money be automatically withheld from the owing parent’s paycheck to be put toward child support. If the owing parent does not appear before the court, they may be arrested.
If arrested and sentenced to jail time, the judge may determine that the jail time should be served on weekends so that the owing parent can keep working in order to pay child support.
It is important to note that parents can also request reimbursement for the attorney fees required to collect on overdue child support. Unless there is a very good reason for the other parent not to pay, the court will usually order the reimbursement of attorney fees.
At Sandoval Law Firm we understand the stress of dealing with divorce, child custody and domestic violence. Our firm consists of founding attorney Raul Sandoval Jr. and a dedicated support staff. Mr. Sandoval earned his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law. Since that time, he has been practicing family law in the Austin area, as well as teaching seminars, classes and other forms of professional development. So, if you want our attorney to help you with child support special collections in Texas, Contact us today!
