Various types of family law matters can be stressful, from custody issues to property distribution. That said, child support can be tough for non-custodial and custodial parents in Colorado. When a parent fails to pay child support, many consequences may lie ahead. Moreover, custodial parents may experience financial hurdles when the payments are not made on time or according to the child support order.
The United States Department of Justice has outlined some of the consequences parents may face for failing to pay child support. Often, these issues are taken care of by local or state authorities. However, if a parent tries to flee to another state to avoid paying child support and the back child support is greater than $5,000 or has been skipped for over a year, they could be prosecuted by federal authorities. In fact, failing to pay child support can lead to time in prison and financial penalties.
Aside from fines and jail, back child support can keep a non-custodial parent from securing a passport and they may also have their tax refund garnished. If you are trying to find ways to pay child support, whether you have lost your job or are going through economic difficulties for another reason, it might be a good idea to look into modifying your child support order. If you have already fallen behind, you should try to resolve the situation soon.
The material that has been written in this post was not written to take the place of legal advice.