Child support matters can be prominent issues in divorce cases. There are also major child support issues that can arise for a parent after a child support order has been issued in a divorce. One situation that could come up over such an order that could leave a custodial parent very worried is their ex failing to comply with the order.
There are various laws and mechanisms aimed at the enforcement of child support orders here in Texas. Understanding what these various laws and mechanisms mean for their situation and what options they have to protect their rights and their child’s rights can be very important for a custodial parent when responding to a failure to pay child support by their ex. A Board-Certified expert Divorce lawyer can advise such a parent on what routes may be available for trying to achieve realistic goals related to child support enforcement.
Last year, a notable addition was made to the child support enforcement mechanisms present in Texas. Specifically, last September, a law went into effect in the state that provided that a parent could be denied a motor vehicle registration renewal for being delinquent on child support for six or more months. Parents with this level of child support delinquency whose vehicle registration is nearing its expiration date are given an advanced warning that they would be subject to a renewal denial if they fail to take proper steps to correct the delinquency.
Since this new enforcement mechanism went into effect, thousands of individuals in Texas have had a vehicle registration renewal denied in relation to failure to pay child support. Specifically, such denials have been issued to over 14,700 non-custodial parents thus far, according to the Texas Office of the Attorney General.
Source: KXAN, “Failure to pay child support leads to over 14K vehicle registration denials,” Sarah Rafique, Aug. 29, 2017