Fail to Pay Child Support, Lose Your License
The Rosen Law Blog reminds us that there are penalties for the failure to pay child support.. The most obvious penalty is that the “dead-beat” parent can be incarcerated and held in contempt of court.
In addition, in New York, the failure of a parent to pay court ordered child support can result in the suspension of driver’s, professional, business and/or recreational licenses. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, every state has some version of a law that revokes licenses of parents who fail to pay child support
Originally, I thought it an oddity that the penalty for the non payment of support was the revocation of the very professional license needed by the payor to generate income. Without the license, there could be no income. Without income, there could be no money available to pay support.
On the other hand, if the parent is not paying support, the children, the beneficiaries of the intended support, are not being hurt by the lost income occasioned by the license suspension. In the end, it may be a good lesson to the non paying parent to get a taste of what it is like not to have money for food, clothing and shelter.
In any event, I have seen firsthand that the loss of a license works. Inevitably, after a parent’s driving privileges have been revoked (because he/she is in arrears and claims that he/she cannot afford to pay child support), he/she miraculously manages to find just enough money to satisfy the support arrears.
Typical family lawyer. Doesn't even consider that maybe fathers don't pay because they can't pay.
Try supporting yourself on 83% of *your* gross income. Then come back & tell us all about it.
And BTW, it's spelled l-o-s-e.
If you do not provide for the support of your child, who will?
Your minor child requires food clothing and shelter.
This whole system is flawed. My support amount was set at a job where i was making 14 dollars an hour an hour travel from home. I was in arrears of a few hundred dollars but making a weekly payment on the back. N.Y.S. in its wisdom took my licence away leaving me no way to get back and forth to work. I lost that job. Local jobs pay 8-9 dollars an hour yet my support wont be lowered. I was told its my responsibility to get a second job. I have a previous documented back injury (i broke my lower vertebrae in 5 places) i cant work two jobs and since i cant afford to live off working one local paying job i guess New York gets to pay for my housing in a county correctional unit. Tell me where this works to ANYONES advantage i really need a valid explanation for this. I have surrendered and now my kids suffer as well as me. New York needs to modify its laws if it wants to keep stupid laws like this in effect.
I do not disagree that the system sometimes results in unintended consequences or harsh results. The problem is not in the enforcement of support awards, but in calculating the fee award.
Unfortunately, we oft become cynical because it is not uncommon for the parent who is ordered to pay support to suddenly become unemployed or ill.
I also agree with you guys about taking away the NYSDL. I am a single mother of 2, I get the support. I think they should suspended that DL get you into court, have you explain why you are not paying, then work out something. I am going threw a very nasty court battle right now, my daughters father is saying that he didn't pay because I stopped him from seeing her, the catch here is he never tried to see her since she was 5 months old, she is now 6.5 years old. That's a lot of back support. NY state has some flawed laws, but they are for the people who are "working" the system. They just really work over everyone else.
This whole argument doesn't make sense. There are simply too many laws avaialable to support child support collections, and non, nada, zilch, to enforce parenting time for the non-custodial parent.
Many studies have proven that the amound of support paid decreases as a parent is more removed from their child. There are three reasons an NCP doesn't pay- lack of financial ability, irresponsible, and lack of visitation with the kids.
Collections laws handle the irresponsible. Laws need to be passed that are as severe for a parent that denies visitation as they are for one that doesn't pay, they are both equally damaging to a child. The balancing of payments will require work, but can't you just imagine that the custodial parent that allows a child to see the NCP will gain financially by not having to feed as much, additional clothing at other parents, and less babysitting time.
IT's time to give up using the kids as pawns, and get back to ensuring their mental health and welfare. Anything less is child abuse.
www.USSharedParenting.com
Well, I don't live I NY, I live in TN. The child support laws are just that way all over it seems. As a NCP I worked my rear end off and kept my payments up for nine years after my divorce. And just like the other father, my payments were set at a job I had that paid quite a bit. Even when I left that job, and started making a great deal less, I kept my payments up to date. I had to do without many times, just so I could get those payments in. Then I found someone and we married. She had 4 kids of her own. So now I was responsible to provide for my new family and keep paying my child support. The courts say that since the children in my house are not my biological children, then I can't get a break on my payments. I have since fallen way behind on my payments due to the fact that there just isn't enough money to do both. My ex-wife has re-married, and both her and her husband work. I believe that the CP should be more supportive towards the kids as well as the NCP. They shouldn't just pop them out, then sit back and wait on the money to roll in. I haven't seen my son in over six months now. You want to know why? Because every time I had visitation with him, he was asking me child support questions. The things that his mother had put into his head. Playing him off against me. Just because I'd decided to move on with my life and re-marry. Now Tennessee has taken my driver's licence, so how am I to get back and forth to work? I live way out in the country. My wife can't drive me, she's busy with the kids. If I can't work, then no child support gets paid, then I get futher in debt. The laws need to have a hardship clause within them, to allow NCPs whos licences that have been suspended to be able to legally drive back and forth to work.
what can i do when my x spouse hasnt paid the new court awarded child support (went for a modification and won) payment for two months. His house is in his new wifes name, he constantly says he is laid off and cannot find work so going after his check seems fruitless? Help? tks.
denise