Here is Why You Need to Pay Your Child Support in California
Economic pressures are becoming increasingly problematic for California residents. With rising inflation and mortgage interest rates, monthly bills are starting to overwhelm many of us. Faced with these pressures, you might be wondering what would happen if you stop paying your child support. Perhaps you have no other option, and you literally have no ability to continue making these payments. While this is understandable, you should never simply stop making your payments without warning. Here’s what might happen if you do:
Garnished Wages and Intercepted Tax Returns
If you refuse to pay your child support, the court will likely find other methods to get that money, whether you like it or not. The most obvious strategy is to garnish your wages. This means that your child support payments will be taken straight out of your paycheck before you even have a chance to do anything about it. If you are self-employed, you may run into the same issues. For example, the court may garnish rental income from any properties you might own. If that does not work, the court can intercept your tax returns.
Taking Away Your Licenses
If you continue to refuse to pay your child support, the court can take additional actions to put pressure on you. For example, they can suspend your driver’s license, making it difficult to travel or earn an income. This is admittedly a little counterproductive, as losing your ability to earn an income also affects your ability to pay child support. The same logic applies to other licenses that may be suspended or revoked by the courts, including your medical license, your license to practice law, or any other professional license you may hold.
Holding You in Contempt of Court
If all else fails, you may be held in contempt of court. This is actually a criminal offense in California, and it may result in fines or even jail time. That’s right; you could actually be thrown in jail for not paying your child support. This is admittedly quite unlikely, but it is not unheard of – and it is certainly something you should consider if you are planning to cease support payments.
Do Not Delay to Modify Your Child Support Payments
Of course, you do not actually need to stop paying your child support if you’re facing legitimate financial pressures. Instead, you could file a request to modify the amount of child support. Consider taking immediate steps to seek modification as the modified amounts can be ordered retroactive to the date the modification request was made. Get in touch with an experienced family law attorney to seek modification of your payments to better reflect your economic situation. As long as you can show a substantial change in circumstance, you can have your payments lowered to a more manageable level.
Where Can I Find an Experienced Family Law Attorney in the Inland Empire?
If you have been searching for an experienced family law attorney in Riverside and San Bernardino, and other surrounding areas of the Inland Empire, look no further than Knez Law Group, LLP. Over the years, we have helped numerous divorcing spouses and parents in California. We know that financial issues can strike families hard, but there are legal options available to lessen burdens like child support payments. Reach out today, and you can get started with an action plan to reduce and modify these payments to make them more manageable.
Matthew J. Knez graduated from the University of Redlands in California where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing. He went on to pursue his Law Degree at the University of LaVerne, College of Law in Ontario, California. While pursuing his law degree he earned various awards, including CALI Award in Torts and he was on the Dean’s List. Mr. Knez was also a member of the Justice and Immigration Clinic where he worked with people seeking asylum into the United States from countries where they had experienced persecution or threat of persecution. Additionally, Mr. Knez was a member of Law Review where he was an Associate Editor and published a Law Review article on California family custody move-away cases.