Children often bear the brunt of their parents’ divorces. Texas couples who file for divorce have much on their plates to figure out and one of those issues when children are involved is child support and child custody. What happens though when the parent who is supposed to pay child support is falling behind or doesn’t pay at all? In many of these cases, child support is often difficult to collect, even if the payor faces jail time for not paying. The advice of an experienced lawyer is necessary.
Statistics show that in 2011 unpaid child support in the country totaled more than $14 billion. There are things a payee can do to try to get a payor to make good on his or her child support payments, but the road isn’t an easy one. The first thing to do, experts suggest, is having a conversation with the individual who is the payor and trying to clear the air and find out why he or she has been unable to make payments. It could be because of a job loss, sickness or some other major issue. If there is a legitimate reason, the payee may have to look into other ways of bridging the financial gap until the payor can pay again.
A payee may also be able to take advantage of any government help available in these instances. There are also private child support collection agencies that may be able to offer some help. They do take a fee from what they are able to collect for a payee.
A Texas lawyer may also be able to help when it comes to major issues like child support and child custody. An attorney will be able to tell a client his or her legal rights and may be able to provide some options. A lawyer will offer his or her legal guidance from the perspective of what is in the best interests of children.