How Is Child Support Enforced In Utah? What Happens If The Paying Parent Is Not Making The Payments?
If a parent stops paying child support, the receiving parent can file a motion to enforce payment. The other parent then must come to court and explain why they’re not making the payment. If there’s not a good reason, the court can impose penalties. They may impose fines, jail time, or other judgments for non-paid support. Non-payment of support can result in the suspension of driving privileges as well as the ability to get a hunting or fishing license.
A parent can also work with ORS (Office of Recover Services) to get child support payments enforced. Normally, ORS is very good at collecting child support. However, the enforcement aspect is the more difficult part because there’s no way to fully enforce payments without going back to court. It then becomes an additional expense for people who are not getting child support and may create a frustrating cycle. Since child support is often a critical part of how people provide for their families, if someone stops receiving child support, they may become unable to pay court fees to attempt to enforce their payments.
Most of the time, if you’re going to court to enforce a prior order, the court will require the non-paying parent to reimburse your attorney’s fees, which helps. Plus, once there are child support judgments, they can start to recoup that through tax returns.