You love and want to support your children, but paying child support may significantly impact your financial life, or you may disagree with how much you are supposed to pay.

Here’s what you should know about the potential consequences if you do not pay child support.

Not paying comes with consequences

Paying child support can be frustrating. You may not have gotten the custody arrangement you wanted, and paying child support can feel like another strike against you.

Unfortunately, when you do not pay child support, it can have significant consequences, including:

• Withholding from your paychecks
• Reporting to credit bureaus
• Suspension of some types of licenses
• Contempt actions that could result in jail time

These actions can have a devastating effect on your life and your career. In some cases, if you reach out for assistance with getting caught up on child support payments, there can be ways to avoid some of these consequences.

Programs for support

In Georgia, two programs help parents struggling to pay their child support: the Fatherhood program and the Parental Accountability Court Program. These programs can help parents who are behind or will be behind on child support payments.

While these programs still require you to make payments, they can help you avoid consequences like jail time, as long as you are fulfilling the program’s conditions.

You may need to talk to a skilled professional about your child support agreement and how you can move forward.

How is child support calculated in Georgia?

Georgia used to base child support based only on the noncustodial parent’s income, but state guidelines now advise the judges who make these decisions to also consider what the custodial parent earns. It is important to bear in mind that judges have the discretion to deviate from the guidelines and increase or decrease child support. This often happens when the child has special needs and more money is needed to cover health care and educational expenses.

How do you modify child support orders in Georgia?

Custodial or noncustodial parents in Georgia who wish to modify a child support order can pay a $100 fee to have the Georgia Division of Child Support Services review their case. The fee is waived for parents who receive Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. Once the review process is completed, which can take up to six months, the DCSS may recommend that payments be increased, decreased or remain the same. Past due child support payments cannot be modified.

What are the guidelines when determining child support?

“Income-sharing” is the approach Georgia courts use to determine child support. The judge considers the parents’ joint incomes, and that amount – minus deductions – will be the base for child support. A support calculator is used after the gross annual income of both parents is determined. Courts in Georgia look at a number of things to determine income, such as:

• Salary
• Interest
• Trust income
• Tips
• Commission

That said, every case is unique. How the guidelines are applied will vary depending on the situation.

How should I prepare for a child support review?

Child support reviews are completed more quickly when DCSS personnel are provided with all of the documents they need in a timely manner. Before contacting the agency, parents should gather their tax returns, recent pay stubs and bills for child-related expenses like health insurance premiums and daycare fees. Parents who wish to modify a child support order based on a significant change in circumstances must be able to demonstrate that the change is likely to be permanent.

Will the court lower my child support obligation if I experience a loss of income, such as losing my job?

Many ex-spouses with hefty child support payments wrongly assume that a downward modification of the payments should be pretty straightforward after a notable loss of income. In practice, though, Georgia judges approach such requests on a case-by-case basis, weighing the facts and circumstances. It is by no means a guarantee that a modification will be given in any particular case.

Georgia Statute 19-6-15(k) specifies that, to seek a modification of a court’s child support order, there must be a “substantial change in either parent’s income and financial status or the needs of the child.”

What does “substantial” mean”? In the case of involuntary loss of income, the statute defines a substantial loss as a loss of 25 percent of income or more.

Even if the income loss is that large, however, there is a two-step process that must be followed to seek a modification of the child support amount. First, it is necessary to establish each party’s income and identify deviations from the amounts the original award was premised upon.

Does the court take into consideration the best interest of the child when modifying child support?

In addition, there must be a showing that the modification being sought would be in the best interest of the child. This determination is solely within the judge’s discretion.

In other words, a modification is not a mechanical process. It isn’t just about plugging in the new numbers into an equation and having preloaded software spit out a solution.

Instead, judges must balance conflicting considerations. The spouse who has been ordered to pay a hefty amount of child support may be struggling to pay it after being downsized from a job. But the child for whom the payment is meant may be harmed if the custodial parent’s source of support is reduced by too much.

After all, many custodial parents make much less money than their non-custodial counterparts. In some cases, a reduction in child support could make it hard for the custodial parent to pay the rent or other bills.

Yet if the child support amount is not modified, the non-custodial parent could be severely impacted as well. It is hard for these parents to move forward with their lives when child support payments take up large percentages of their income.

Understanding the various challenges in Georgia child support determinations will help you approach your case with more knowledge and greater ability to protect your financial future.

Keep in Mind the Most Important Factors in Child Support Determinations

The most important thing for people to remember is that child support does not occur in a vacuum. The court will consider all relevant factors to make a child support determination. In cases where the child support determination is agreed upon in mediation, the court will consider the various factors to make sure the agreements are equitable for everyone involved.

As mentioned on our website, some factors that can complicate child support determinations can include children with special needs, unusual child custody and visitation arrangements and other related factors.

What You Can Do to Prepare For Your Child Support Determination

The first thing you can do to help your cause is to gather all of your relevant financial information. With a better understanding of income, assets and liabilities, your attorney can help you understand the range in which you can expect a child support determination to land.

Another important step is to consider any special circumstances that could require deviation from the normal range of possible child support payments. If you are the spouse to receive support, there may be good reasons to petition the court to provide you with more than the standard amount. Conversely, if you are the paying spouse, there may be circumstances that favor a downward deviation.

Although child support is primarily focused on making sure the children get the provisions they need, the final decision regarding child support will impact all other aspects of your financial future, so it is important to take this aspect of your divorce or separation seriously.

Although the goal of getting through a divorce with minimal conflict and time requirement is understandable, there is too much at risk financially to ignore the financial aspects of divorce. In a time when Americans’ retirement prospects are more unstable than they have been in years, it is more critical than ever to take a strategic approach in divorce. You need to maximize the financial in divorce to protect your future.

Unstable Retirement Prospects

A recent article in Investment News explores the declining potential for financial independence in retirement for a growing number of Americans. Citing a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Investment News article states that “[t]he three pillars of the American retirement system – Social Security, workplace retirement plans and individual savings – will not provide adequate retirement security for a growing number of people…”

There are numerous reasons for this collapse in future financial security, including a instability in the Social Security system, “which is projected to be unable to pay full benefits by 2035,” and the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. facing “substantial liabilities,” among other reasons.

What Does This Mean for Divorcing Couples?

Assuming the Investment News report is accurate, there appears to be a good chance that many young people will be much less able to enjoy a financially secure retirement than in years past.

If anything, individuals facing divorce need to be intentional and strategic when planning divorce strategies. The approach of ignoring financial matters in order to speed through the divorce process is likely not the best approach. There is too much at stake. You need to make sure you get the best financial outcome possible in your divorce.

Protecting Your Financial Future

When it comes to division of assets, spousal support and child support, you want to maximize your potential. Whether you are the paying spouse or the spouse who will receive support, getting the best outcome possible could be the difference between living comfortable in your retirement years or not.

An experienced divorced and family law attorney can talk you the process, create an intelligent strategy and fight to obtain you the best financial outcome possible in your divorce.

While this may sound somewhat sinister, we discussed how the reality is that both federal and state law — the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act and Georgia Statute 19-11-9.2 — mandates that all employers must run the names of all new hires within ten days.

Having already established the various classes of new hires who must be reported to the database by employers in our previous post, it’s now perhaps logical to learn more about why such a requirement even exists.

According to officials, requiring employers to report new hires to the database helps foster greater stability for families across the state by helping ensure that children receive the financial support to which they are entitled under state law.

To that end, the Georgia new hire database is designed to do the following:

• Facilitate the enforcement of existing child support orders.
• Locate non-custodial parents/putative fathers for the purposes of establishing paternity and, by extension, orders for child support.

It’s important for new hires to understand that this examination of their personal information — name, date of birth, Social Security number, etc. — doesn’t stop here, as once it’s run through the database, it will then be forwarded to something called the National Directory of New Hires. As implied by the name, this is a database accessed by child support agencies across the nation.

If you have any questions or concerns related to child support — establishment, modification, enforcement — please consider speaking with an experienced legal professional who can explain the law, answer your questions and fight on your behalf.

Sometimes lost amid this new job chaos, however, is the fact that both Georgia law and federal law requires employers to submit the names of their new hires to a state-run database within 10 days of their hire.

As we will examine further in a subsequent post, the primary purpose of this reporting requirement under what is known as the “new hire law” is to facilitate the regular payment of child support and collection of past due payments from delinquent parents.

It’s important to understand, however, that it’s not just new hires that — meaning those employees who live or work in Georgia, and to whom the employer anticipates paying — that must be reported under the law.

Indeed, employers must also report both re-called and re-hired employees, meaning any worker who has returned to work after the passage of more than 60 days due to any of the following:

• Layoffs
• Furloughs
• Leaves without pay
• Separation
• Termination   

Interestingly, seasonal workers, substitutes and teachers all fall into this category.

Another class of employers covered by the law include temporary agencies, which must report the names of any employees hired to report for various assignments. While the employee doesn’t need to be reported for every new assignment, they will need to be reported as re-hires following any breaks like those outlined above.   

We will continue to examine the new hire law in our next post. In the meantime, please consider speaking with a skilled legal professional if you have any questions or concerns about any matter related to child support from modification to enforcement.

As much as all this has served to facilitate child support payments, agencies are nevertheless always on the lookout for new ways to increase collections.

By way of illustration, consider the recent efforts of the California Department of Child Support Services, which officially unveiled a new cash pay option back in January that enables parents to make payments via Moneygram, the ubiquitous money transfer company.

To date, the agency indicates that roughly 9,000 cash payments totaling over $2.4 million have been made using Moneygram.

Recognizing the success of this initiative, the department launched a pilot of another cash pay option this past June and July that enabled customers to use a cash payment option called PayNearMe located at over 1,600 7-Eleven stores scattered throughout the nation. Here, parents pay a $1.99 convenience fee to make their payments, which can take up to three days to process.

Over the two-month trial period, 164 cash payments were made totaling over $38,600 from locations across California and even four other states.

Indeed, the short-term success of the PayNearMe option prompted officials to adopt it on a full-time basis, meaning there are now two cash pay options for parents in the Golden State.

“Making it easier and more convenient for parents is our responsibility,” said an agency official. “Now, with the two cash pay services in retail stores throughout the state, we are helping even more customers where they live and work.”

It’s certainly encouraging to see these types of developments, as it means more children will get the financial support they need and deserve.

If you have any questions about child support — payment, modification, enforcement — consider sitting down with an experienced legal professional to learn more.

Interestingly enough, a recently published study by researchers at Arizona State University designed to uncover more about public attitudes toward this and the other child support models made some very surprising discoveries.

As part of their study, the researchers focused on posing a series of hypothetical child support cases to randomly selected prospective jurors in Tucson, essentially asking them to pretend to be a judge and set what they believe is the right amount of child support.

This method, they theorized, would not only elicit more truthful responses, but also provide better insight into how people actually think in relation to this potentially controversial topic.

Among some of the more notable findings:

• When it came to adjusting child support based on income changes experienced by a noncustodial parent, respondents were three times more generous than the law. For instance, one hypothetical had a noncustodial parent earning less and seeing their child support payments reduced by $100. On average, the respondents would have actually lowered this amount by $300.
• When it came to adjusting child support based on income changes experienced by the custodial parent, respondents were okay with it moving either up or down. However, they also found that when a noncustodial parent was ordered to pay a set percentage, this should not change regardless of any income variations.
• When it came to adjusting child support based on remarriage, the respondents believed that a stepparent’s income should be taken into account.

According to the researchers, while the results of the study likely won’t result in changes to the child support models, they should nevertheless serve to provide lawmakers with better insight into what the public views as equitable.

What are your thoughts on this study? Do you agree with these findings?

Consider speaking with an experienced legal professional as soon as possible if you have any questions or concerns about child support, including enforcement or modification.

This confusion can typically be attributed to the seemingly complex calculations that must be performed, the lengthy guidelines that must be consulted and the otherwise arcane language employed by the courts in these matters.

A good starting place to help alleviate some of this confusion is to understand that there are three different types of child support models among the 50 states.

• Income shares model: This child support model is currently employed by 38 states, including right here in Georgia. It is guided by the belief that in most households any income earned by parents is shared and spent in a way that benefits all members, including children. As such, it holds that children are entitled to the same proportion of parental income that they would have otherwise received had their parents not divorced, and that the incomes of both the custodial and the noncustodial parents should therefore be considered in determining the amount of child support.
• Percentage of income model: This child support model is currently employed by nine states. It differs considerably from the income shares model in that income of the custodial parent is not accounted for in any capacity. Instead, child support is essentially a set percentage of the noncustodial parent’s income.
• Melson formula model: This child support model is currently employed by only three states, acting as a sort of modified version of the income shares model. Specifically, it accounts not only for the basic needs of the child, but also for the basic needs of each parent.  

In future posts, we’ll examine the income shares model in greater detail and discuss the rather surprising results of a recently published study designed to uncover more about public attitudes toward the child support laws here in the U.S.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about child support — securing payments, enforcement, modification — consider speaking with an experienced legal professional as soon as possible.

We should be paying closer attention to that, argues the writer of an article focusing upon child support policies and alternative models. In fact, notes the author of a child support-related column in the media outlet ThinkProgress, American officials might profitably look to Europe for salutary ideas on how to best ensure support payments and administer support programs equitably and with optimal efficiency.

Here’s why. Reportedly, American dads with support duties stand out for being the most onerously taxed of virtually all noncustodial fathers virtually anywhere in the world; that is, notes the above-cited article, “American fathers have the highest obligations among 14 of the richest countries.” Few countries incarcerate fathers who are behind on support payments. Fathers in many American states suffer that fate.

And, often, their support amounts owed simply increase while they lag in jail. Their kids are not benefited, and neither are they.

It is interesting to note that, excepting one nation (the Netherlands), every country in Europe guarantees child support payments to custodial parents, even in instances when the parent tasked to pay support is paying little or nothing of what is owed.

Might that be something worthy of studied reflection in the United States?

Of course, critics will argue that taxpayer-funded support to guarantee adequate care for every child in the country is excessive and untenable.

Some commentators note, though, that the overall cost to the federal government to help provide for American children and to ensure their potential to prosper in the future would not be that great, with the reciprocal benefits being truly outsized.

In the end, they say, the costs to taxpayers would be far less than the ultimate advantages that would accrue.

European nations differ from the United States in many respects. Sometimes that can be instructive.