Deadbeat Parent© Annelies Mouring
Dec 19, 2000
No contact. No child support. No Christmas card. Its been 5 years since the last visit. Clerk of the Court lists arrearages at over $10,000.00. Sound familiar? The law says that you have a deadbeat parent. Each state handles it different. These are not the occasional payment skippers - these are those parents whose arrearages are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The “deadbeat” parents are those parents who never made a payment or who maybe made one or two but never very many. Are there any definitive answers? Can this be solved? Has it been? Believe it or not there are some answers. The answers come as legal advice for the most part so seek legal help in your jurisdiction as each jurisdiction is different. The sad part is the answers will never be “sure-fire” solutions and it might years before any results can be achieved. Just do not give up.
At the state level: Many states have deadbeat solutions. For example, if child support goes unpaid for so long in FL then the Enforcement division can suspend their driver’s license, professional license (like a Dr., lawyer, nurse, cosmetologist, etc.). This can be particular helpful when the parent relies on their license as part of their work. The goal here is to make the parent realize that the payment of child support is important. Most deadbeat parents feel that the child support is not important or that the payment is unnecessary. Revoking their license may make the payment seem more necessary otherwise face losing their complete livelihood. However, this kind of enforcement would only apply if they lived in that state. At the federal level: To be enforceable at the federal level child support will have to reach a certain point. A list of “deadbeat parents” exists that will send up a red flag almost like a warrant, and in some cases is an arrest warrant, when the amount of child support exceeds 50 thousand dollars. If the deadbeat parent files an income tax return then many states have provision for that money to be held and paid to their arrearages. Other help: If you do not the know the parent’s location look at http://www.dollar4kids.com as there is a very helpful article and forms for tracking down a deadbeat parent.
Many employers also require that their employees be current in their child support payments as a condition of employment. Contact the non-payer’s company. The company may not release information about the parent but may be able tell you if they have such a company policy. If such a policy does exist, what you need to do to provide them documentation that child support is not current.
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