If your former spouse isn’t paying child support, you may find yourself in the place where you are considering denying visitation. Unfortunately, this isn’t a good idea, and there are other ways to go about it. This is why you shouldn’t deny visitation based on child support issues and what you do need to do in order to try to get the other parent to start paying child support again.
Why you shouldn’t deny visitation because of unpaid child support
A child is the one that suffers when they don’t get to see both of their parents. Withholding visitation for unpaid child support can cause them to resent you and can affect their self-esteem. It can also put you or your child in harm’s way. The other parent may take drastic measures to try to see their child even if it means one of you gets hurt in the process. You can also find yourself in legal trouble if you deny the other parent access to their child.
The steps you should take
As soon as the other parent misses a child support payment, you need to contact your local child support enforcement office right away. It can take a variety of different actions in order to remedy the situation. This can include reaching out to the other parent to find out what is going on, garnishing their wages or suspending their driver’s license.
These are some of the things that you can do if your former spouse has quit paying child support. Just keep in mind that it’s never a good idea to deny visitation as it can be detrimental for both you and your child.
