In Pennsylvania, both parents of a child are legally obligated to provide financial support to ensure their child’s well-being. However, if parents are not married or are getting a legal separation or a Pennsylvania divorce, the exact amount of support that each parent should contribute is determined by formalizing a child support order. A court decides on the amount of child support that should be paid according to the child’s best interests standard.
A court may order a parent to pay child support in Pennsylvania, and they may fail to pay as required. If this is the case, they may experience serious consequences that may significantly affect their financial stability and legal status.
Child support application fraud is committed by a parent when they attempt to deceive a court in connection with a child support determination in order to avoid paying child support or to lessen the amount of support they have to pay. Or the custodial parent may inflate expenses in order to increase the amount of support.
For example, during a divorce or legal separation, one or both parents might provide incomplete or inaccurate information about their income and assets to influence the court’s calculation of child support and the amount they are ordered to pay.
The non-custodial parent may accomplish this by hiding additional sources of income, such as income from investments, or by failing to report income earned from a trade, profession, or business accurately.
The custodial parent to whom support is paid may overstate the amount of the child’s legitimate expenses. Or, they may include expenses that do not, in fact, arise from the child’s needs. An example of child support fraud would be when the custodial parent inflates the child’s expenses in order to cover personal leisure expenses that are not associated with the child or their well-being in any way.
What Is the Penalty for Hiding Income for Child Support?
If the child support order in a person’s case is based on their ex-spouse’s fraud or perjury, a person may petition the court to set the order aside, recalculate the amount of support, and issue a new order. Fraud is the intentional or negligent misrepresentation of information. People commit perjury when they misrepresent facts while under oath to tell the truth in a legal proceeding.
If a person believes that the other parent of their child has committed fraud or perjury, they would want to consult an attorney about how to proceed.
How Do I Report Child Support Fraud?
If a person’s child support fraud consists of not paying the support they have been ordered to pay, the custodial parent would turn to the Pennsylvania Child Support Enforcement Service (PCSES).
Ultimately, the PCSES, or a court that works with the agency, may take steps to enforce the child support order. Some of the ways in which a court might demand payment include, but may not be limited to:
- Wage garnishment: The non-paying parent’s employer may be required to withhold a certain amount from the non-paying parent’s paycheck. The amount withheld is then forwarded to the receiving parent.
- The non-paying parent’s tax refund may be garnished, i.e., taken to fulfill the parent’s child support obligation.
- A court may place a lien on the non-paying parent’s personal or real property.
- A non-paying parent’s driver’s license may be suspended.
- A non-paying parent’s professional license may be suspended.
- A non-paying parent’s U.S. passport may be denied or even revoked if the parent owes more than $2,500.
In Pennsylvania, the name of a person who fails to pay their child support for 30 days may be published in the local newspaper.
Additionally, the parent who is harmed by the other parent’s child support fraud should contact the family court that handles their case. They would want to petition the court for modification of their child support order. A person’s goal would be for the court to determine child support based on honest and accurate information about the child’s financial needs and the paying parent’s resources.
This is a situation in which a local attorney in Pennsylvania would be able to help by using certain legal strategies to address and minimize the possibility of fraud.
Generally, modifying a child support order requires proof that circumstances have changed for one or both of the parents or the child, and the change justifies changing the amount of child support. This change in circumstances must be so great that the non-custodial parent’s ability to pay has been affected.
Or the needs of the child may have changed in some significant way, meaning that support should increase or decrease. Some common examples of applicable change in circumstances include the following:
- An employment change for either parent, such as a new job, that either increases or decreases their income
- Changes regarding the custody arrangement or visitation schedule
- Temporary economic hardship, such as losing a job
- The child experiences a medical emergency
- There has been a significant change in the child’s other needs, such as increased private school tuition leading to additional educational expenses.
A court would consider a change in circumstances and how those changes affect the child support order. However, the custodial parent should not decide unilaterally to take on a large expense for the child and then force the other parent to help pay for it. A parent would be well advised to go to court first for approval of any new expenditure.
An example of this would be the decision to send the child to a private school instead of a public school. Family courts will consider what serves the child’s best interest in each situation on a case-by-case basis and determine for what share, if any, of a new expense each parent is responsible.
Can a Lawyer Help Me Resolve a Child Support Fraud Issue?
If a person has a problem with child support fraud, whether they are the parent who pays support or the one who receives it, they may want to consult an experienced, local Pennsylvania child support lawyer. As noted above, a lawyer who is experienced in child support disputes would be familiar with methods for countering efforts to commit fraud.
For example, an experienced child support attorney would know that certain documents are likely to be more reliable sources of information about a person’s financial situation than others. They would know how to gain access to the most reliable sources of information.
Additionally, a person may be accused of child support fraud. If this is the case, their attorney can help them determine whether there are any legal defenses available to them based on the circumstances of their case.
Should I Consult with an Attorney if I Have an Issue with Child Support Fraud?
If you have an issue with child support fraud, either as the paying or the non-paying parent, you want to consult an experienced local Pennsylvania child support lawyer.
LegalMatch.com can quickly connect you with an experienced child support lawyer who can help you respond to possible allegations of fraud in your case. If you believe your child’s other parent may be committing child support fraud, you should talk to your lawyer as soon as possible.
