In the United States, failure to pay child support is actionable within both the criminal and civil courts, and is considered a serious offense. If you owe child support to the other parent of your child, and you haven’t bothered to send a payment in six months, you might very well be arrested. Although police rarely actively pursue those who fail to pay child support, they will take the opportunity if it presents itself.
Some critics consider it counter-productive to arrest men and women for failure to pay child support, but it seems to be the only option. It might be more difficult to pay what they owe while they are locked up, but when an individual owes $40,000 in arrears, it is doubtful that he ever intends to pay. For this reason, prison seems to be the only appropriate solution.
However, you should know that if you are arrested for failure to pay child support, it does not erase the debt you owe. In fact, many judges apply a condition of release to those who are imprisoned for not paying, and give them an amount they must pay before they can get out. For example, if a father owes $10,000 to the mother of his child, he may be put in prison until he can come up with $5,000.
There are, of course, situations in which warrants are issued for delinquent parents who are simply unable to come up with their monetary obligations each month. If a parent is arrested for failure to pay child support, he is able to present his financial situation before the court. If he can provide adequate proof that he is unable to pay what he owes, many jurisdictions require that he be released from prison. Of course, the burden of proof falls on the parent alone.
If you are unable to pay child support, the best thing you can do is go to court and ask for a modification hearing. Through this process, you can request a modification of your child support obligations, depending on your financial situation and the money to which you have access. Such a hearing will not get you out of paying support, but it can lessen the burden and make your obligations easier to handle. The problem is that most “deadbeat parents” never go to court.
Many jurisdictions use “Pay or Appear” warrants to encourage the payment of child support. When such a warrant is issued, the defendant has the option of making good on what he or she owes before the date of appearance, or he or she will have to show up in court and go to prison. Otherwise, a bench warrant is issued and he or she can be arrested on the spot by any officer he or she encounters.
If you are arrested for failure to pay child support, it is in your best interests to make good on what you owe immediately. This might mean asking friends or family members for loans, or dipping into your savings, or even using a credit card. However, your options may be limited from the inside of a jail cell, so it’s important to take care of it before it proceeds this far.
In some states, parents owe child support directly to the state government rather than to the parent. If this is the case in your situation, serving time in jail can pay off some of what you owe. You’ll have to talk to an attorney about your options.
