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What happens if you don’t pay child support?

On Behalf of | Apr 10, 2016 | Family Law

The Texas Attorney General is required by state law to create programs to locate and arrest delinquent parents. Child support means mandatory payments from the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. These payments aren’t owed to your spouse; they’re owed to your children. Unlike spousal support and other asset division orders, for these payments, the court must approve all changes to the support arrangement. This article will go over what happens if you are delinquent on your payments.

To carry out this law, the Attorney General created the Child Support Evader Initiative. This program is charged with locating and arresting parents who are delinquent on their child support. It may use a variety of techniques to identify parents, including posters, media outlets, displaying photographs and other ways of getting parents’ names out into the public.

Any parent may file a claim with the Evader Initiative. However, there are some requirements:

  • An arrest warrant was issued.
  • The delinquent parent is more than $5,000 behind in their child support payments.
  • The delinquent parent is evading their obligation.
  • The parent seeking the payments must sign a waiver to allow the Evader Initiative to publish information to the public.
  • The delinquent parent hasn’t made regular payments in the past six months.
  • The filing parent must provide a photograph of the delinquent parent.

If you or a loved one is going through a divorce, then you may want to consult with a lawyer. These cases can quickly get out of control. An attorney can ensure that you are treated fairly by the court and that you understand all of your legal obligations.

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