When a parent stops paying child support, it can be cause for major concern. After all, you count on that support to help you ensure your child has all that they need to live. While there are several reasons a parent may stop paying their child support, it’s important to understand how to proceed in making sure payments are enforced by the court.

Enforcing California Child Support

In court-ordered child support cases, the paying parent must start making payments to the receiving parent as soon as it is ordered until the child is 18 years old. To make sure the parent pays the support, the court will issue and serve a wage assignment to the paying parent’s employer. This tells the employer to take out a portion of the person’s wages and directs them to send it to the paying parent.

If the local child support agency (LCSA) is not involved in the child support agreement, then both parents can agree to have payments be made in another way. Essentially, rather than the employer taking out the child support, it is put on hold. In this type of arrangement, the parents handle the agreement and must work out how support is paid. Therefore, it cannot be enforced by the court.

Not paying a legally-binding child support can result in serious consequences. If the court finds out that a parent is not paying child support even though they have the ability to do so, they will take action. For example, the court can find the parent not making child support payments to be in contempt of court. This can result in jail time and hefty fines.

Remember, there is a statute of limitations of three years for filing a contempt of child support case. If your ex is not paying support for an extended period of time, notify the court at least every three years. The paying parent will be required to pay back all child support claims until they are caught up, even if the child is older than the age of 18 years old.

Contact a Pasadena Child Support Attorney

Enforcing child support can be difficult to navigate on your own. Always seek counsel from a Pasadena child support attorney if your child’s other parent has stopped paying child support. Your attorney will help you file paperwork with the proper officials and guide you in the best direction to move forward with your child support case.

Need help enforcing your child support order? Call Law Offices of Christopher L. Hoglin, P.C. today at (626) 653-4075 to set up a consultation with one of our skilled Pasadena family law attorneys.