On behalf of The Law Offices of Mary Ann Beaty, PC posted in Child Support on Wednesday, August 20, 2014.

Child support is an issue that divorcing parents in Dallas will typically have to deal with at some point, whether they are on the paying or on the receiving end of it. As they do, it’s important to remember that this is a court-ordered payment, and parents who fall short of their obligations may face legal consequences.

There has been some recent media coverage of one notable case involving a Midwestern father who had a baby in the early nineties. In 1994, he was ordered to pay child support to the mother. Now, almost 20 years later, state officials claim that the total amount the father has paid in two decades is just over $400.

The man was located at a West Coast club, in part through investigators’ monitoring of his Facebook page. He was seen driving from his home to the club where he worked in a Mercedes-Benz. Officials placed him under arrest at the club for amassing almost a quarter of a million dollars in delinquent payments for child support and are extraditing him to his home state.

When custodial parents in Dallas aren’t receiving their full monthly payments, they can seek to have the non-custodial parent held in contempt of court. In order to pursue this option, however, it’s important to gather all the pertinent documentation, including tax paperwork and information about other child care expenses. Not all support agreement language is as clear as one would hope; it may be necessary to argue one’s case for child support enforcement and convince a judge to take action.

A legal professional can often help custodial parents make a case like this, if indeed that is the best option. Child support is a legally binding agreement and Texas law gives custodial parents the tools to enforce it if necessary.

Source: CBS 58, “LA man arrested for owing almost $250K in child support in Milwaukee,” Chris Patterson, Aug. 14, 2014

Source: CBS 58, “LA man arrested for owing almost $250K in child support in Milwaukee,” Chris Patterson, Aug. 14, 2014