Baltimore & Towson Lawyer Discusses Gender and the Failure To Pay Child Support
In Maryland and all throughout the U.S., parents are dealing with issues related to unpaid child support. A recent story done by NPR discusses the issue, noting that the amount of unpaid child support each year reaches “well into the billions” of dollars. More specifically, statistics show that the amount of unpaid child support in the U.S. for the year 2011 was $14.3 billion, according to the Census Bureau.
The Census Bureau also provides insight into the custodial parents affected, supplying information such as the marital status, race and gender of those parents. The statistics showed, much to the surprise of many, that in 2011 (which is the latest information available), 32 percent of custodial dads did not get any child support that had been awarded, compared to 25 percent of mothers who had custody of the children.
So, why was this the case? The Census Bureau did not provide exact reasons for the disparity; however, the data suggested a few possible explanations, to include dads having higher household incomes such that they are less likely to be pursuing the payments from the mothers.
The director of the Child and Family Research Partnership at University of Texas at Austin also noted another possible reason for mothers failing to pay child support to fathers stems from the fact that in order for the father to become the custodial parent, the mother may not have been in a good position, personally and/or financially, in the first place. She may have been having difficulty finding work or she may have been suffering with an addiction. Whatever the issue, it more than likely played a role in the reason why the mother was unable to make payments.
The data also indicated that parents who were never married are less likely to get the child support payments they are due, as opposed to those who were married and later divorced. Again, there is no solid reasoning for the disparity, but the Bureau concluded various factors played a part in that particular set of data.
What Can You Do if You’re Having Trouble Collecting Child Support?
Your Baltimore and Towson family law attorney will tell you that there are several options available to those who are having difficulty collecting court-ordered child support payments. One step a parent can take to collect support for their children is to seek assistance from the court by asking a judge to find the nonpaying parent in contempt.
When a court finds someone in “contempt,” various remedies can be ordered, to include temporary incarceration of the nonpaying parent. Any parent interested in pursuing such action is encouraged to work with a knowledgeable family law lawyer to ensure all proper documentation is filed in a timely manner.
A custodial parent seeking enforcement of a child support order might also seek to obtain a wage assignment. Wage assignment is a special procedure that permits the court to order the nonpaying parent’s employer to make direct payments to the custodial parent.
If you are interested in pursuing child support payments to which you are entitled and you have questions about your options under the law, contact the Law Offices of Amar Weisman, LLC as soon as possible.
Call (410) 321-4994 For a Free Consultation
Call The Law Offices of Amar S. Weisman at (410) 321-4994 to schedule a Free Consultation. The Purpose of the consultation is to determine whether you want to retain this law firm as your Baltimore County & Harford County Family Lawyer. If you do wish to proceed, then you must pay a retainer. See Our Policy on Fees and Costs. The family firm is located next to The Circuit Court for Baltimore County, at 1018 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson, MD 21204.
