Last updated on April 8, 2021
For increasing numbers of Americans, one family law consideration is becoming progressively more of a problem.
Namely, that is this: Child support collection is far from easy for ever-more custodial parents, notwithstanding a court order or other mandate from a state requiring that payment be made.
The problem is clearly of substantial magnitude across the country, including in Georgia. The U.S. Census Bureau recently noted that one of every three dollars owed in child support simply doesn’t make it into the hands of custodial caregivers for use on behalf of children in need.
The bureau also noted that, in 2011, fewer than 50 percent of parents owed child support collected the full amount due. Approximately 25 percent collected nothing at all.
Such numbers certainly don’t bode well for many children across the country, with a logical inquiry focusing on why it is so difficult for so many parents to collect money that is owed on behalf of their children.
One obvious answer is that high numbers of parents tasked to pay support simply can’t come up with the required payments — some not in full and some not at all.
Some commentators on the matter also say that increasingly more people who are owed support have just stopped asking the government — whether a court or state body — to intervene on their behalf. Difficulty accessing government help is hindering more people in their collection efforts, either because of budget cuts that curb resources or because, as one commentator notes, some would-be supplicants “don’t know this complex system works.”
An experienced child support attorney has detailed knowledge of how the legal system operates and can provide strong legal counsel in response to any questions or concerns.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Billions of dollars in child support go unpaid yearly,” Emily Alpert Reyes, Nov. 20, 2013
