Help! My Child’s Other Parent Will Not Pay Child Support in Illinois 

 Posted on January 17, 2022 in Child Support

 Divorced and separated parents frequently disagree about child support. The parent who is ordered to pay often feels as though the money is not being used correctly, and the receiving parent often feels as though the payments are insufficient to meet the child’s needs. Sometimes a parent will fail to pay child support because he or she feels the amount is unfair or because it seems impossible to afford it. 

But no matter the reason, Illinois takes failure to pay child support seriously. Unpaid child support places the full financial burden of raising a child on one parent and reduces the child’s standard of living through no fault of the child. If you are a parent who should be receiving child support and your child’s other parent refuses to pay, it is important to try every method possible to enforce your child support order. An experienced DuPage County child support attorney may be able to help you recover unpaid child support more quickly. 

Try Communicating First

Before taking the issue to court, try to resolve the problem with your child’s other parent. Reasonable people can sometimes explain why they missed their payments, as well as any plans to make them up. But if they fail to respond or are uncooperative, it may be time to take legal action. 

Work with the Illinois Division of Child Support Services and Illinois Courts

When parents are already receiving their child support payments through DCSS, then DCSS can try to legally force the paying parent to produce whatever money is owed. They will already have the parent’s contact information, as well as their employment information, and will be favorably positioned to take action. 

But if parents are not working with DCSS, the next step may be filing a court motion to show the paying parent is in violation of the child support order. Once the motion is filed, the court can try to recover unpaid child support in several ways, including: 

• Garnishing wages

• Seizing bank accounts 

• Suspending drivers’ licenses and professional licenses

• Seizing federal and state tax refunds

• Placing liens on assets

• Holding the parent in contempt of court

• Fines

• Jail time 

Meet with a DuPage County Child Support Recovery Lawyer

When one parent refuses to pay court-ordered child support, the impact on the child and his or her other parent can be devastating. If you need to recover child support, consider getting assistance from an experienced Naperville, IL child support recovery attorney with Calabrese Associates, P.C.. We will help you pursue every avenue available to make sure you get the money your child deserves. Call us today at 630-393-3111 to schedule your consultation. 

Source: 

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075000050HPt%2E+V&ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=6200000&SeqEnd=8675000