Child support is one of the many obligations that survives divorce or separation when two Illinois residents end their relationship. It is intended to provide children with the money they need to live and thrive. In Illinois, both of a child’s parents are expected to support them financially, whether or not they are still in a relationship with their co-parent.
In some circumstances, parents with child support obligations fail to make timely and complete payments. When this happens, their children’s custodial parents may need to seek the enforcement of their child support orders. Enforcement can take on many forms, and a trusted family law attorney can advice a parent on how best to get their child the support they deserve.
Enforcement tactics in Illinois
As mentioned, there are many different ways that child support orders can be enforced in Illinois. Those tactics can include, but are not limited to:
- Garnishing wages or bank accounts
- Suspending a driver’s license
- Denying a passport application
- Criminal prosecution
- Interception of tax refunds
- Property liens
As readers can tell, the failure to pay child support can result in serious consequences. In particularly egregious cases, criminal prosecution may be pursued against those who fail to pay support for the benefit of their kids.
Options for addressing child support delinquencies
Not every parent who fails to pay their child support order does so intentionally. In some cases, a parent may not have the financial ability to make every payment on-time and in full. Parents who cannot manage their child support obligations can seek to modify their orders to make them more manageable. A trusted family law attorney can provide guidance and advice to a parent in this situation, and all readers of this post are reminded that its contents provide no legal advice.