Options When A Spouse Won’t Pay Court-Ordered Child Support

An application for enforcement can be filed by your New Jersey Child Support Attorney on behalf of the parent to whom the child support is due. When the child support is being paid through Probation (the New Jersey Support Center), that agency can also file an enforcement application.

The court has the ability to suspend the defaulting parent’s driver’s license, professional license or passport if he or she refuses to pay child support. Child support arrearages are also reported to the three credit bureaus and constitute a lien on the defaulting parent’s real estate, making it impossible to sell or refinance that real estate until the arrearages are fully satisfied. Other remedies include seizure of bank accounts, personal injury or worker’s compensation awards, lottery winnings and income tax refunds.

When necessary, the court has the power to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the defaulting parent. Following his or her incarceration in the county jail, the defaulting parent will be taken before a judge who will determine the amount of the child support arrears that the defaulting parent must pay in order to be released from jail.

The cost of a college education can be enormous. New Jersey is one of a minority of states that puts divorced parents on the hook for contribution to their child’s college costs. Most states say if an 18 or 19-year-old wants to go to college, that’s their responsibility. New Jersey said, mom and dad, you guys are on the hook and you’re helping out as long as you’re able. What do you do when your child is looking at a private school and one year of tuition is going to cost more than your car? What if you can’t afford it?

Well, what the court is supposed to do is to look at your case through the lens of 16 different factors to figure out what each parent should contribute and what the child’s responsibility should be. The court has to look at what each of the parents earn, what their expenses are, how much they actually have left over at the end of each month to contribute. What’s the relationship like between the child and each of the parents? Was everyone included in the college discussion? Was the other parent’s input solicited? Does the child have a demonstrated aptitude for higher education? What kind of financial resources are available to the child? Scholarships? Grants? Loans? Are there more affordable options? Does the child need to go to a private or out-of-state school, when public local options are available?

The court is supposed to consider all of this in coming to an answer, but as you might be able to tell, that’s a lot of stuff to consider. These college contribution fights, and most of them take place post-judgment, which means after the divorce, can be nasty and expensive. If that’s a journey that you’re about to embark on, you want an advocate standing by your side to make sure the court looks at your case fairly and accurately.

A very common post-judgment issue in New Jersey is the allocation of responsibility between divorced parents for their children’s college costs. Many parents who divorce when the children are young address the college payment issue at that time by simply stating they’ll try to reach an agreement when and if the child is ready to go to college. Deferring the need to come to an agreement is a natural inclination because each parent’s financial circumstances may then be very different than at the time of the divorce.

At the same time, putting a framework in place at the time of the divorce for payment of future college costs is never a bad idea, especially in light of the financial hardships, which a New Jersey court’s post-judgment decision may place on one or both parents. At Salvaggio Law Group, we want to assist you with moving on with the rest of your life. Call us today to arrange a good time for us to have a personal and confidential phone call. There’s no charge, of course, and I think it will really help.