Frisco Family Law Lawyer and Child Support Enforcement
Before child support of any kind can be enforced in Texas, there has to be a valid and fully executed court order that sets out the details of the support. A Frisco family law lawyer will make sure that you understand how important it is to be clear in the initial order and will work to make sure that every detail of the child support order is covered. While the court does allow for enforcement, a valid order must be in place first.
The Texas appeals courts also feel that those child support enforcement violators who are facing potential jail time be given the same consideration as someone who is facing jail time for any other crime. The appeals process has made some aspects of child support enforcement more difficult in many cases so the stronger and clearer that your initial order is, the better the chance of getting actual resolution.
What to Do If You Need to Enforce a Child Support Order
If you are going to try to enforce a child support order with hopes of a finding of contempt of court and a jail sentence, there are several steps that must be followed and criteria that must be met. This includes:
- A definitive order of child support as the basis for the charge of contempt; again, it is very important that the order be as clear as possible and should set out who the paying party is, what the paying party is to pay, when they are to pay and where the payment should be sent.
- The specific allegation of how the order was violated. This should include the terms of the order that was violated, the date of the violation and the claim that the violator was actually able to pay at that time.
- Personal delivery and service of the complaint to the violator, which must include an order to appear in court, why they are so ordered, the time and the date of the hearing.
- Must show that the violator was capable of complying with this court order.
The final step may be the most important one as far as enforcement goes and the one that the Frisco family law lawyer or the Frisco divorce attorney will help you to focus on; that is the definitive order of incarceration. That order should show which party was in contempt of court, what the violator was ordered to do and how they failed to do so. It will also set out the terms of how they could have complied with the order.
Child Support Enforcement
In most cases, child support orders are the easiest to enforce because they are so specific including who is paying and who is being paid, how much is to be paid and how or when child support will be stopped. The law in Texas clearly states that once a child support payment is due but not paid it becomes an obligation that cannot be altered by the court. But each judge will decide the best course of action in a case by case basis.
In addition to jail time and fines for non-payment of child support, there are enforcement tools that can be used. These include:
1. The Employer’s Withholding Order
2. The Notice of Child Support Liens
3. The Child Support Lien Foreclosure Suit
4. License Suspensions
The first one of these is the most commonly used and may be included within the original divorce decree but not enacted until a later time. When this order is in place, the employer must withhold the amount of child support from the pay or may become obligated to pay that amount instead.
If a third party is holding assets that belong to a person who is obligated to pay child support, they will receive a notice of child support lien which will effectively freeze those assets. A notice of lien can also be sent to any banks which will freeze those accounts until an enforcement suit can be filed. Once that has been completed, the bank will release the funds to the person who was owed the child support.
Another option is the license suspension. The Family Code spells out that people who do not make their child support payments may lose any and all licenses that they hold in the state of Texas including their medical, dental or law license and their driver’s license. They will be given notice and will be allowed a chance to bring their payments current before this is carried out.
Child Possession Orders
The Child Possession Order is more difficult to enforce in most cases because they are rarely as specific as the child support orders. It is important that these orders be as clear as possible not only to cut down on confusion about who is taking the child and when but also in the event of a dispute that must be resolved through court action.
Before the orders are completed and entered into the official record, it is imperative to make them as clear and as specific as possible.
Delivery of Money or Possessions
Again, the more specific an order is, the better it is for all parties. The order should say which possessions or how much money is to be delivered, where it will be delivered to and when. It should also include the condition of the possessions or the way the money will be handled, for instance as a cashier check or a money order.
How to Obtain and Enforce the Order
During the divorce proceedings, the Frisco divorce attorney will discuss ways to make the proposed orders clearer and more specific so that the enforcement is not necessary in the first place but easier to deal with if so. The more specific the order is, the less legal wrangling there will be to do when the order is not complied with by one party or another.
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