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[C575]Child Support Enforcement Laws

by Jean Mahserjian, Jea

Child support enforcement is a growing area of family law. Once child support has been ordered by a Court, or agreed upon by two parents, it is not always smooth sailing. Although we hear a lot about "deadbeat parents" (and there are both moms and dads who are deadbeats), the overwhelming majority of parents pay support and take care of their children as agreed upon or ordered. But, when that is not the case, you have to know how child support enforcement works.

Child support enforcmement in one form or another is available in every state for collecting against deadbeat parents. Those child support enforcement remedies include wage garnishment, intercepting tax refunds, suspending a driver's or professional license, and more.

In addition to the child support enforcement remedies that the individual states provide, the is a federal remedy which is often overlooked, but which is very effective. That child support enforcement remedy is the Child Support Recovery Act of 1992.

Under the Child Support Recovery Act, the failure to pay child support, if willful, is a federal crime if the parent who owes support lives in a different state than the parent who is receiving the support. Relying on this criminal statute can be a very effect child support enforcement tool.

The purpose of the Federal Child Support Recovery Act was to prevent a parent from moving to a different state or a foreign jurisdiction for the purpose of evading a child support order. However, since we live in an incredibly mobile society, it is not unusual to have a support paying parent in one state and a support receiving parent living in another state. When that happens, the Federal Act is available as a remedy for interstate child child support enforcement.

A first offense under the Federal Child Support Recovery Act can result in a prison sentence of up to six months in addition to monetary fines. A second conviction can result in more jail time and greater fines.

The Child Support Recovery Act was amended in 1998 and is now know as the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act. The 1998 Act makes it a federal crime to travel to another state to avoid a child support obligation, if that support obligation is greater than $5000 and has remained unpaid for more than one year. If the obligation is greater than $10,000 and has remained unpaid for more than 2 years, if is a federal crime under the 1998 Deadbeat Parents Act simply to have not paid the child support.

The penalties available for child support enforcement under the 1998 Deadbeat Parents Act include prison sentences, fines and restitution. Restitution is the payment of money to the custodial parent in an amount equal to the child support arrearage existing at the time that the defendant is sentenced. Probation can also be imposed and can include conditions such as the payment of child support and mandatory employment. A violation of those terms of probation can result in the imposition of additional prison time.

If you are owed child support and the parent who is supposed to pay lives in another state, consult with an attorney to discuss whether the Federal Deadbeat Parents Act can help you with child support enforcement and collect the support due to you.

Child support can be traced back to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In the young ages of the nineteenth century, the United States courts that handled cases of marital breakdowns and divorce, discovered that the present laws did not provide for a support action. The United States had inherited many of the English laws in that time, and those laws discovered that a father had a non-enforceable duty to support his children. In fact, English precedents forbade and third party from recovering that cost of support unless the cost was pre-approved by a notarized letter with the father.

In 1601, The Elizabeth Poor Law authorized local parishes to claim some of the funds they spent while caring for the custodial parent and their children who were not taking care of by the non-custodial parent. But this statue would only be prevailed on the mother and her children if they were extremely poor.

Child Support becomes the law

Child support continued to develop into the early 1900's. In 1950, the United States Congress pass the first federal child support enforcement legislation having state welfare agencies to inform the appropriate enforcement officials when it became necessary to provide aid to parents with children who had no support by the other parent.

In 1975, Child Support saw big changes, not just for the collection of support, but also for child support enforcement. The Social Security Act, was signed into law on the 4th of January 1975.

In 1984, the next big year for child support laws, when the Child Support Enforcement Amendments were established, requiring improvements in state and local enforcement programs. First, every state in America were required to develop income withholding from all non-custodial parents paying child support. States were also allowed to report any delinquent parents to consumer credit agencies if they were past due on their payments.

Article Source : Drunk Driving Defense Lawyer

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Both Jean Mahserjian & Holcy are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Jean Mahserjian has sinced written about articles on various topics from Child Custody, Criminal Defense Law and Divorce and Infidelity. . Jean Mahserjian's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.

Holcy has sinced written about articles on various topics from Parenting, Parental Care and Parenting. . Holcy's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.