A person who pays child support may not simply stop paying child support on their own initiative. A person must continue to pay court-ordered child support until the child at issue reaches the age of 18 or a court ends the child support obligation.
Child support is payment by a parent who does not have custody of their child to a parent who has custody to help support raising their child. Child support payments are often ordered as part of a final decree of a Georgia divorce or legal separation. One biological parent who is not married to the other parent may sue the other for child support.
Ohio has a set of specific child support guidelines that courts use to determine the amount of child support that a non-custodial parent must pay. Georgia uses the “income share” method for calculating child support payments. The goal is to make sure that both parents contribute fairly to the support of their child. A local attorney in Georgia would be able to provide more information.
In calculating child support, a Georgia judge may take into account the fact that the parents share custody. Other special situations that can affect the calculation of child support in Georgia are the cost of childcare and extraordinary medical expenses. These costs may be additions to the basic Georgia child support order.
When Is Child Support Ordered?
In some cases, the duty to pay child support arises from a divorce, as noted above. Or it may arise from a legal separation. A court may issue a child support order at the end of a paternity suit when the father of a child who is not married to the child’s mother seeks custody or visitation. Or a mother who is not married to her child’s father may ask a court to order the father to pay child support.
Whatever the type of case in which a child support order is made, as noted above a child support order is legally binding on the parent who is ordered to pay support. There are negative consequences and penalties for failing to pay child support when a court in Georgia orders it.
In Georgia, child support payments are made by a parent who does not have custody to the parent who does have custody. The court calculates child support with reference to Georgia’s Child Support Guidelines. The guidelines are used to calculate the amount of support for all temporary and final child support orders.
A person can access the Child Support Guidelines through the Child Support Commission website at https://csc.georgiacourts.gov/. In making decisions about child support, a Georgia court considers the following factors:
- The child’s best interest standard and what would serve the best interest of the child
- The type of custody arrangement that the parents have, e.g., whether it is joint or sole
- The age of the child or children on whose behalf the support is paid
- The total number of children each of the parents has
- The income of both parents after deductions
- Additional childcare expenses.
In some circumstances, a non-custodial parent may also have to pay retroactive child support in Ohio. For example, the child might have lived with one parent while their divorce was in progress and the parent who did not have custody did not pay any support. If that is the case, a court might order the non-custodial parent to pay child support for this past period of time when the divorce is finalized.
How Is a Child Support Award Enforced?
When the NCP does not pay the full amount or does not pay at all, enforcement action is necessary.
If a parent does not obey a support order, they may be found in contempt of court. A contempt action may be filed against the parent who does not obey an order to pay child support or fails to maintain the required medical insurance.
They may be fined, sentenced to serve time in jail, or both. The judge may order the parent who cannot pay to enroll in the Fatherhood program or in the Parental Accountability Court program. However, the parent would still be obligated to pay the full amount of support they owe, including support that is past due.
The child support order may also be enforced through one of the following actions:
- Withholding child support from paychecks, unemployment payments, or weekly worker’s compensation benefits
- Taking federal and/or state income tax refunds
- Reporting the parent’s delinquent child support payments to the credit reporting agencies
- Suspension or revocation of a non-payers driver’s license, professional or occupational license, or recreational hunting or fishing licenses
- Intercepting lottery winnings if they are more than $2,500
- Filing contempt actions in the superior court which may lead to a jail sentence
- Filing of liens to seize matched bank accounts, lump sum worker’s compensation settlements, and real or personal property
- Denial, suspension, or revocation of the passport of someone who owes more than $2,500 in child support may be denied, suspended, or revoked.
How Can I Avoid a Child Support Increase?
If a person is curious as to whether the law entitles them to a change in their child support award, they may want to talk to a Georgia family law attorney to determine what their potential obligation could be.
It is important to note that the guidelines do not automatically adjust an award of child support. A parent who wants an increase would have to petition a court to modify their support order. Another possible approach is to negotiate an increase with the paying spouse.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
Of course, the obligation to pay child support ends when a child reaches 18. However, child support does not end automatically on the day of the child’s eighteenth birthday. Under certain circumstances, it may end before that date or after it as follows:
- The child is 18 but continues to attend an accredited high school on a full-time basis. In this case, the support would have to continue until the child graduates or turns 20.
- The child is 19 years old, and the court order does not require support to continue past the child’s 19th birthday.
- There has been a change in custody for the child to the parent who pays child support.
- The child has been adopted, and the paying parent’s parental status has been terminated.
- The child gets married.
- The child enlists full-time in the military.
- The child is legally emancipated.
- The child is deported to another country.
- The parent who pays child support or the child passes away.
These are some of the reasons to close a child support case.
Do Child Support Payments End Automatically?
Child support payments continue until a court vacates or modifies the order. A court would do this only if one or both of the parents involved requested it. The support payments may also come to an end if the requirement to make them in the order is met or if specific events occur, as provided for by state laws.
How to Get Child Support Arrears Dismissed?
Sometimes, a person may fall behind on their basic child support obligations. It is not legally possible for a person to end their child support if they owe past due child support payments. Accordingly, a person should work out a plan to pay off any unpaid child support debt that they may have. A lawyer should be contacted if there are specific questions about a motion to dismiss child support arrears.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with Terminating Child Support?
If you have concerns about child support, whether you pay it or receive it, you want to talk to a
Georgia child support lawyer. LegalMatch.com can put you together with an experienced lawyer who can analyze your situation, answer your questions, and protect your rights. It is always a good idea to have an experienced lawyer on your side.
