Articles Posted in Child Support

Alabama residents understand that financial circumstances in a person’s life can change over time. From matters involving a person’s job to changes in family composition, there can be a variety of factors that bear on a person’s financial situation.

It comes as no surprise, then, that as a person’s financial situation changes, so too does their needs when it comes to child support. Yet no matter what the circumstances, individuals must be careful to comply with legal requirements before acting alone in a child support dispute.

Take, for instance, the situation of entertainer Joe Piscopo, who pays child support for the three children whom he shares with his ex-wife. Piscopo must pay $5,000 per child in child support each month, and was recently ordered to pay $10,000 in child support by the end of December, as well as an additional $50 per week toward his support arrearage after he fell behind by about $30,000 in his child support payments.

Many Alabama residents understand that a divorced individual’s failure to pay for a child’s upbringing can be economically devastating for the other parent. Less known is the effect that unpaid child support has on taxpayers.

Surprisingly, over $100 billion in unpaid child support was owed to parents in 2009, with nearly half of that amount being owed to taxpayers. The taxpayer involvement occurs when children need to go on public assistance. In those instances, back payments of child support are supposed to be reimbursed to the government.

While this may anger some taxpayers, the situation becomes dire for the custodial parents who are faced with the financial hardship of raising their child without proper economic assistance. Statistics show, however, that much of the delinquent payments, 54 percent, is owed by just 11 percent of debtors.

With the economy as sluggish as it has been the past few years, many Alabama residents have had their share of financial challenges. The reach of these financial troubles seems nearly unlimited. In the context of family law, such challenges may pose problems in meeting monthly child support payments.

In cases where an individual has trouble meeting child support payments, that person may petition the court for a modification of child support. If the other party agrees to the change, or the judge orders the change, payments may be lowered. Until that happens, however, parents with child support obligations should continue to make their monthly payments as best as they can.

While an agreement with the other party is optimal, requests for modification often ignite a child support dispute. When going to a judge, the party requesting modification must document the change in circumstances leading to the request, such as a loss of job or medical disability, which occurred after the initial child support order was entered in the case.

When parents in Birmingham decide to split, child support payments often become a necessary part of life. The payments are intended to help children live a normal life. The money is often used to provide children with basic necessities Parents who fail to make child support payments may have to face hefty penalties.

One father in another state who owed more than $43,000 in child support got quite a surprise recently. His former girlfriend worked with a bounty hunter to create a plot to lure the man back to his home state to pay up and to face criminal charges.

The bounty hunter contacted the man and told him that a talent scout was interested in using him in an upcoming movie starring Jennifer Aniston. The man paid close to $3,000 to fly from Hawaii to Pennsylvania. Instead of a movie role, however, the man was handcuffed and arrested before he even got out of the airport.

A child support agreement is often necessary when parents in Birmingham are not raising a child together. The payments made by a non-custodial parent are important and often provide a child with basic necessities. Child support is intended to give children a stable life. However, when a non-custodial parent fails to make child support payments, it seems that everyone suffers.

According to recent news reports, former boxing champ Evander Holyfield owes a significant amount of child support. Holyfield has apparently failed to pay child support for this 18-year-old daughter since 2010. He owes more than $372,000.

Holyfield could end up in jail if he does not catch up on his payments. That’s because the California Department of Human Service is taking him to court and asking that he be put behind bars and that his wages be garnished until the payments are up to date.