How Can I Enforce a Child Support Order?

If you were granted custody of your children after a divorce, there’s a good chance that your former spouse has been ordered to pay you a specified amount of child support each month. However, a child support order is not always enough to make a non-custodial parent pay up, and some parents may neglect to make child support payments altogether. If this happens, there are various methods for enforcing child support orders to ensure that you and your children receive the support you deserve.

In Florida, there is no statute of limitations on collecting child support arrears. This means that you may attempt to collect child support payments even if many years have passed since the payments were due. Some of the most commonly used methods for collecting child support arrears include the garnishment of wages, unemployment benefits or workers’ compensation benefits; federal tax refund seizure; liens against various types of property (including cars and houses) and professional license; and driver’s license or passport suspension. Less commonly, the parent may be held in contempt of court or face criminal charges, potentially leading to probation or jail time.

Raising children without adequate financial support can be very challenging, if not impossible, and can have serious consequences for you and your children. To effectively pursue unpaid child support, you may need to take swift legal action.  The right legal counsel will make every effort to ensure you receive the full amount owed to you.

Meet with an experienced family law attorney in Fort Lauderdale for the guidance you need on enforcing Florida child support orders.