The switch from a double-income to a single-income household after divorce can make it difficult or even impossible for one parent to handle everything alone, more so from a financial perspective. Therefore, it can get pretty frustrating when your co-parent fails to pay child support as ordered by the court.
Fortunately, court-ordered child support orders are not optional and can be legally enforced. Here is what you need to know about enforcing child support orders in Utah.
Filing a motion to enforce
A motion to enforce is the first step in enforcing child support orders in Utah. Once the motion is filed in court, a judge will order the paying parent to make the necessary payments. In some cases, the delinquent parent may be held in contempt of court and even fined or jailed until they pay a portion or all of the outstanding payments.
Additionally, the Office of Recovery Services (ORS), a division of Utah’s Department of Human Services, provides support in such instances. The ORS has a raft of enforcement tools that include:
- Seizing personal property
- Filing a civil contempt case in court
- Intercepting a tax return or stimulus payment
- Applying a lien levy on the non-paying parent’s bank accounts
- Wage garnishment, where a portion of their wages will go towards settling child support arrears
All these tools and others not listed can be used to enforce child support orders, even if the paying parent relocates to a different jurisdiction.
Are you having child support issues?
Divorce does not absolve a parent of their responsibility to raise the children. Therefore, if you are having problems with child support payments, it is worthwhile to seek legal advice on how best to handle the matter and the options available to protect your children’s well-being.