After a divorce, ex-spouses are left with a settlement agreement and their child support orders. Most parents who have support orders pay their child support through income withholding, where the payor spouse simply agrees to have the child support amount deducted from their paycheck. It is then deposited into the recipient spouse’s bank account, and nothing else needs to be done. However, this arrangement does not work for all co-parents in King County.
If you and your ex have other arrangements, you may find that the payor has fallen behind on their support payments. What can you do when your children’s other parent cannot or will not make their child support payments? The Kent child support enforcement lawyers at Lutz & Associates, P.S., are here to help you enforce your support order and ensure your children receive the money they are owed. Our child support attorneys aim for peaceful resolutions whenever possible and have been helping families navigate their legal concerns since 1997, so we are well-equipped to help you with your support disputes.
How Are Child Support Payments Made?
In the past, a co-parent would make child support payments directly to the other parent. In Washington today, payor parents make their support payments to the Washington Department of Child Support (DCS). The department automatically makes payment available to the recipient spouse, either into their bank account or to a DCS prepaid cash card.
However, if the payor does not make payments, nothing can be distributed to the recipient spouse. Many parents do not realize that enforcement is not automatic, and that DCS will not begin enforcement just because your ex-spouse has missed a few payments. The recipient parent must apply for services with DCS to have the state begin enforcement action. If you have not been receiving the support payments your children are owed, our Kent lawyers could help you apply for enforcement from DCS and protect your children’s rights to maintenance from their other parent.
When Should You Contact DCS for Help?
Whether couples have children or not, it is an unfortunate fact that families’ standards of living decline after divorce, according to Pew Research. Although parents have a duty to support their children no matter what the circumstances, some payors may refuse to pay out of anger, spite, or simply because they cannot afford the ordered amount. One of the most common reasons for missed support payments is inability to pay.
If you are the recipient parent, you should contact DCS as soon as a single payment is missed. If you need child support to pay for your kids’ needs and need help with enforcement, time is of the essence. If you have questions about the procedure, a Kent child support attorney from our firm can help you and explain how the process works.
As life goes on, circumstances change, and the payor parent may simply be unable to make the full payment. In these cases, the former spouses may try to avoid trouble by letting the payor skip payments or make partial payments directly to the recipient. This is not a good idea. Instead, our attorneys could help you understand the modification process and what you need to do to modify a court order. DCS tracks payments and missed payments, and skipped payments for any reason can appear later to haunt the payor.
Get Legal Guidance from a Kent Child Support Enforcement Lawyer
After a divorce, it would be nice to think that everything is over and you can move on with the next step in your life. In fact, you may still need to deal with your ex-spouse in court. The attorneys at Lutz & Associates can keep those dealings to a minimum by helping you handle your child support problems early and ensuring your payments remain consistent.
When you have questions about how your child support payments are made, or they do not seem to be arriving on time like they should, contact our Kent child support enforcement lawyers at Lutz & Associates, P.S., by calling (206) 672-9291 or filling out our online contact form. We are here for you whenever you are ready.
