Family Lawyer
When you and your partner choose to end your relationship, there will be several important elements to sort through. While married couples endure the divorce process, should you share children together you will also have the momentous task of developing agreements surrounding both child custody and child support. If you have been unable to make your child support payments in a timely manner, you will probably be wondering whether your visitation rights will be impacted as a result. Although most parents do not intentionally withhold the child support payments they owe, should you be unable to pay, it may be a good idea to contact a child support lawyer.
Visitation and Child Support
In most cases, child support is ordered to the non custodial parent to help the parent with physical custody care for the children. If you are unable to make payments, you may be wondering if this could impact your ability to have visitation with your child. It’s important to note that visitation is usually not impacted when one parent fails to make their child support payments. Visitation with your child is essential, it’s important that they are connected to both parents. If your ex is withholding visitation due to non payment of child support, it may be a good idea to contact a child support lawyer as soon as possible.
The Impact on Your Child
The purpose of child support is to help shoulder the expense of caring for a child. The parent with physical custody is most likely the one to with much of the financial expense. However, a non custodial parent is responsible for making timely child support payments. When child support payments are not received, the impact on your child may be significant. The custodial parent may be relying on payments to assist in providing for the child. This may include food, shelter, and clothing. Without child support payments, the custodial parent may be unable to make their own financial obligations in a timely way, and provide the child you share with all that they need.
The Repercussions of Non Payment
Although visits may not be impacted due to non payment of child support, you do stand to face a number of consequences as a result. Should you not make child support payments, and the other parent takes action, you could:
- Lose Your License
- Face Jail Time
- Lose the Ability to Obtain a Passport
- Have Your Wages Garnished
If you are unable to make child support payments due to hardship, it’s important that you be proactive moving forward. Make sure that you are open and communicative with your child’s parent so that they are aware that you may be unable to make child support payments.
Contacting a Child Support Lawyer
There may be a number of reasons for a parent to not make their child support payments in a timely manner. In some cases a parent may have lost their job, or be unable to afford the child support they originally committed to. If you are struggling to make payments it may be a good idea to contact your child’s parent to communicate the problem. Chances are they will be relying on the money you owe, making it important to let them know if your payment will be missed. Additionally, you may want to contact a child support lawyer for the help you need, especially if it makes sense to modify your child support agreement in family court.
While there may be a number of reasons you may not be able to make your child support payments, you will probably want to contact a child support lawyer for the legal help you require. Situations requiring child support stand to have a significant impact on all that are involved. While child support payments may be difficult for the non-custodial parent to manage, the impact non-payment may have on your child(ren) may be great. A child custody lawyer has the ability to help you manage child support payments, and may be able to assist in taking action towards modifying child support when necessary.