Yes, it is a possibility. When a Maryland divorce court finalizes a divorce involving minor children, the court will order child support payments, typically, from the non-custodial parent. Because the child support payments are part of a court Order, the obligations are legally binding. Obedience to lawful court Orders is mandatory. Thus, if a child-support-paying parent falls behind on child support, the payment-receiving parent can notify the court and ask for the court to “do something.” Usually, this involves filing a petition or motion with the court explaining the situation and asking the court to intervene. Often, the court will respond, at first, by asking the non-paying parent to come into court to explain why payments are not being made.

If you need help getting or modifying child support payment obligations (or need help getting your payments), contact the experienced Calvert County, Maryland, Family Law and Child Custody Attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Call us at (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland, and can help file the correct papers to ask for court intervention.

Court’s Options are Nearly Unlimited

Generally, the court will begin by asking the non-payer for an explanation. If the issue is one beyond the control of the parent — such as a loss of employment, disability, or some such — the court might modify the child support payment obligations.

On the other hand, if the parent is simply refusing to make child support payments, the court has many options to coerce compliance with the court’s Order. One option is to suspend the non-paying parent’s driver’s license. This is not done very often since it is often counter-productive. Most people need their vehicle to get to work and get back home. If one is trying to get a parent to pay child support, it is not helpful to make it more difficult for the parent to get to and from their job.

More common remedies chosen by courts involve things like wage garnishments. If the parent is employed, it is relatively “easy” to enter a garnishment Order and send it to the employer. Employers are used to garnishment, and the money withheld can be sent directly to the child-support-receiving parent.

Other options include seizure of assets like money in bank accounts or even seizure of physical assets like collectibles or a valuable antique automobile. Government benefits and other things can also be seized/intercepted, like tax refunds, unemployment benefits, and more.

In the end — and at the most extreme — the court has the power to declare the non-paying parent to be in “contempt of court.” This allows the court to then have the parent physically arrested and held in the local police or sheriff’s lock-up (usually at the courthouse). The non-paying parent can be held in jail for as long as it takes for the parent to agree to restart child support payments.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland, Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.