What If I Don’t Pay Child Support In Florida?
If a Florida court ordered you to make regular child support payments, there will be penalties if you do not follow through on this obligation. A late payment will result in a late notice, and if there is no payment following that request, further action could be taken by the state. Consequences can be administrative, civil, criminal, or professional in nature, depending on the circumstances.
There are examples of a mother or father being ordered to pay support and later their financial situation changes, in effect making it no longer feasible for them to afford the child support payments. If this has happened to you, continue making payments and connect with an Orlando divorce lawyer. Simply stopping payments is not permitted, but you can take legal action and pursue a modification, helping you to balance your household budget moving forward.
Administrative Penalties, Wage Garnishment, and More
An administrative penalty can be imposed on a parent who fails to make court-awarded child support payments. These consequences could have an impact on both your professional and personal life and could include having your driver’s license suspended, being denied a passport, being unable to access professional licenses, and having recreational licenses suspended. Hunting licenses and fishing licenses are recreational licenses, for example.
And if you are already unable to meet your obligations due to income and resources issues, financial repercussions can be even more uncomfortable. Your paycheck could be garnished, tax refunds and workers’ comp benefits can be seized, and liens can be placed on your home, car, or other items that you own. Of the financial penalty, garnishing wages is the most prevalent. In these mutations, your place of employment will be without money from your paycheck.
Beyond civil penalties, criminal prosecution can follow, such as jail time. It is essential to face the issue and connect with legal support as soon as you realize you will not be making payments. Ignoring the problem and stopping your payment obligations out of the blue will not solve the issue. You need to take proactive steps to be sure you are on the right side of the law.
A FL Family Lawyer Can Help
An experienced Orlando divorce lawyer can review your case and inform you on how likely a modification will be given your unique situation. Downward modifications mean the child support amount is lowered, an upward modification means the amount that needs to be regularly paid is increased. A downward modification is possible when the parent making payments can no longer afford to do so or the parent receiving payments has had a financial shift that results in them no longer needing the payments to supply the necessary lifestyle for the children.
Do you need help because you are unable to afford child support payments? A downward modification may be possible, connect with the seasoned family law attorneys at Donna Hung Law to learn more. Our attorneys will work hard to achieve your objectives. To protect your financial future, call 407-999-0099 or contact us online to schedule an initial evaluation.
