Every parent has a legal obligation to support their minor children – but your co-parent doesn’t seem to think that is important. Maybe they’re just irresponsible, or maybe they’re trying to punish you for leaving the relationship by withholding the funds your child needs, but they keep finding increasingly creative ways to avoid paying their court-ordered child support.
Can you withhold visitation until they pay up? Unfortunately, no. Visitation or custody of a child and child support are considered two different issues, and they’re not related. Your co-parent’s duty to pay child support is separate from your duty to make your child available for court-ordered visitation. If you deny your co-parent access to your child, you could be the one in legal hot water.
What can you do instead?
You are not without resources when it comes to this issue, however. If your co-parent is avoiding their support obligation, you can head back to court and ask the court to enforce the order. If the judge’s admonition alone isn’t enough, the court has the power to do things like:
- Garnish your co-parent’s wages or other income
- Seize your co-parent’s tax returns
- Seize your co-parent’s assets, such as business property and bank accounts
- Suspend your co-parent’s driver’s license or professional license
These are just a few examples that the court has at its disposal. If a judge is particularly frustrated by your co-parent’s behavior, they may even issue a warrant for their arrest and hold them in contempt of court.
Ultimately, it’s never wise to take the law into your own hands, no matter how justified your actions may seem. If you’re fed up with your co-parent’s irresponsible violation of a child support order, it’s wise to get legal guidance.