Can I Sue for Child Support Enforcement?

You secured your child support order. You know how much money you’re supposed to receive to help raise your child. But that isn’t the end of your case if the other parent doesn’t follow it.

Once the court grants an order, state and federal authorities enforce it. Past-due child support is in “arrears.”

This article explores the penalties a non-compliant parent may face. Learn about your child support enforcement options at the state and federal levels. To get advice, discuss your child support case with a family law attorney.

First Step: Make Sure You Have a Child Support Order

Though state law varies, child support is secured in three steps:

1. Establish paternity.
2. Get a court order in a child support case.
3. Enforce the order against the obligor.

If you haven’t followed the legal process to get a child support order, you won’t be able to collect money from the other parent. But once you have a court order, you have the ability to seek enforcement. 

Child Support Enforcement Standards

In the past, only the states handled child support enforcement. The inconsistency between the states led to confusion and let under-paying parents slip through the cracks.

Now, you’ll have basic standards for enforcement no matter which state you live in. In 1975, Congress responded by requiring all states to manage their child support programs based on minimum federal standards. Because this law is in Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, cases handled through these programs are sometimes known as “IV-D cases.”

Congress also created the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE). This office works with state and tribal agencies to develop programs based on overarching guidelines. It also provides many helpful resources to parents and professionals trying to enforce court-ordered child support. These include a comprehensive handbook available directly to parents.

Child support laws still vary widely from state to state. So a local family law attorney is a crucial ally in securing past-due child support payments.

Nonpayment Is a Common Problem

Despite robust government programs, ensuring that minors get financial support from both parents is still an ongoing social problem.

The Census Bureau reports that over 22 million children had a parent living outside their home in 2022. In that year, only three out of four custodial parents with a child support order received payments. This figure includes parents who received any money, even if it wasn’t the full amount owed. That means about a quarter of custodial parents with a support order didn’t get paid at all.

Interstate Child Support Enforcement

Often, problems arise when a child or parent moves out of state.

All 50 states have adopted the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) to make sure parents don’t evade their child support obligations by moving states. This law sets a baseline for establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support orders across state lines.

Before UIFSA, two states could each issue a support order in one case. This led to confusion and delay when enforcing child support obligations.

UIFSA solved the problem by allowing only one “controlling order” to be active. Once one state issues a controlling order, another state’s child support enforcement agency can register it. The new state can enforce the registered order against the non-custodial parent in the new state in the same manner as in the issuing state.

Penalties for Nonpaying Parents

Parents may face several legal consequences for failure to follow a child support order. These penalties are both criminal and civil in nature.

Non-Criminal Penalties for Nonpayment

Child support enforcement agencies have many tools to encourage or force parents to pay child support arrears. These include:

• License suspension: State child support agencies may suspend your driver’s license for failure to pay child support. They may also suspend business, occupational, professional, and recreational (e.g., hunting and fishing) licenses.
• Passport denial: You can’t get a U.S. passport if you owe $2,500 or more in child support. If you already have a passport, the government can restrict its use.
• Income withholding: A court may also order garnishment of a parent’s wages by their employer. Federal law allows garnishment of up to 50% of a parent’s income. This increases to 60% if the parent does not support another child or spouse.
• Tax refund offset: The Federal Tax Refund Offset Program allows the government to withhold a parent’s tax refund. The funds are then sent to state agencies to offset child support debt.
• Child support lien: The government can place a lien on a parent’s property. A lien is a legal claim held by a creditor against a debtor’s property (e.g., cars or real estate). A lien can block the sale of the property until the child support debt gets paid. It may also affect the debtor’s credit report.
• Seize property: Sometimes, the government can seize a parent’s property directly, including funds in a bank account.

Criminal Penalties for Nonpayment

In extreme cases, intentional failure to pay child support can lead to jail time. 

There are three federal crimes associated with failure to pay child support, which include the following:

• If the amount past due for a child who lives in another state is (1) over one year late or (2) greater than $5,000, intentional failure to pay is punishable by a fine, up to six months in prison, or both.
• If the amount past due for a child who lives in another state is (1) over two years late or (2) greater than $10,000, intentional failure to pay is punishable by a fine, up to two years in prison, or both.
• Interstate or international travel to intentionally avoid paying back child support that is either (1) over one year late or (2) greater than $5,000 is punishable by a fine, up to two years in prison, or both.

Despite these laws, most child support prosecutions get handled at the state level. Child support arrearage must first be addressed at the state level before federal prosecution.

Intentional failure to pay child support is also a crime at the state level, ranging from low-level misdemeanors to felonies. Punishment may include fines from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. It can also involve jail time from a few months to years.

Factors for criminal sentencing include:

• The amount of child support owed
• How late payments are
• Whether the failure to pay is recurrent

A Lawyer Can Help Enforce Child Support

The law places a special emphasis on the well-being of minors. The national child support enforcement system and criminal codes throughout the country reflect this.

Parents trying to enforce child support orders have many tools at their disposal. If you need help enforcing a child support order, an attorney experienced in child support matters can give you legal advice and use these tools to your advantage in family court.