Possible Consequences of Failing to Pay Child Support in Florida
In the state of Florida, every child has the right to financial support from both their mother and father until the age of 18. Sometimes, that law is not always followed by the parent who is ordered to pay child support, and their child support becomes overdue or unpaid. Florida automatically deducts child support from the parent’s paycheck. The parent is required to notify the Department of Revenue when they have switched jobs, and the income deduction follows them to their new job. However, sometimes the parent fails to notify the Department of Revenue of an employment change, is paid illegally for side jobs, loses their job, or makes extra income. In these cases, the Department of Revenue is kept in the dark regarding the parent’s financial status, and payments are missed. When this situation occurs, there are many consequences that the parent could potentially face for not paying child support when a child support order is in effect. Here are a few of those potential consequences.
Failing to Pay Child Support Potential Consequences:
- Contempt of Court: The primary parent has the option to seek a lawyer, file a complaint, and get a judge’s ruling against the non-paying parent. In this case, the judge would most likely order the child-support-paying parent to pay a large fine or serve jail time.
- Arrest Warrant: Again, in this instance, it would be advisable to seek a lawyer for guidance. In this case, the primary parent would seek a lawyer, press charges, and a judge might place an arrest warrant for the parent that is overdue in their child support.
- Suspension of License: The state of Florida can suspend any driver’s license, fishing license, or hunting license of a parent that is overdue in child support.
- Florida Seizing Assets: The state of Florida could potentially begin seizing assets to make up for the parent’s overdue child support. Assets can include: tax returns, lottery winnings, unemployment payments, physical properties, bank and credit union accounts.
- Liens on Property: If the Department of Revenue needs to take extra measures to collect past due child support, the state has the right to place liens on property owned by the parent. Property includes homes, cars, boats, and more.
Every Case is Different
These are all potential consequences that a parent might face if they fail to pay child support. Every child support case is different, so there is no definitive order of consequences the state of Florida follows. It is best to always seek the help of a lawyer or attorney when dealing with any sort of divorce, child custody, or child support cases.
Source: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/childsupport/pdf/cs170.pdf – Florida Department of Revenue