One blog post which seems to be causing a lot of controversy going to jail if you don’t pay on a debt. One of our commentors said you could definitely do time for defaulting on child support, so we thought we’d investigate a little further on this topic.
A brief Google search yielded many hits on this topic:
- A Cleveland Man will spend 2 years in prison for not paying child support.
- Apparently, a warrant can be issued for your arrest for failure to pay child support. If you are pulled over for a traffic ticket, they can haul you off to jail because of this warrant.
- If you are more than $2500 in arrears on your child support payments, you cannot get a US Passport.
- A man in Cleveland, OH had to spend 30 days in jail for not paying $56K in child support.
- Iowa has a state-run program to help parents who are not making their child support payments avoid jail time.
So what is going on here? Why are non-paying parents going to jail over child support payments? You can think of child support as a court order. Anytime you refuse a court order, you are in contempt. Failing to pay child support is criminal contempt of court, and always involves jail or a fine or both. Though all states have different regulations, most do prescribe jail time for non-payment.
What if the Non-Paying Parent Can’t Get a Job?
On February 2, 1998, the California Supreme Court published the Moss opinion (Moss vs. Superior Court. 17 Cal. 4th 396 ). Prior to January 1998, many judges and commissioners were divided as to the remedies available to them when faced with a criminal contempt for non-payment for support (P.C. 270) when someone raised the issues of inability to find work.
Prior to the Moss decision, non-payment meant automatic jail time. The Moss decision made allowances for parents who were not paying only because they were out of work and could not afford their child support payments. However, if the parent was not paying because they refused to work, jail time must be served. Remember, the Moss decision only applies to California child support payments.
So what experience do you have? Have you been unable to make child support payments or had an ex-spouse who did not make their payments? Tell us about it by leaving a comment!
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going to jail for not paying child support it ridiculous jail is for criminals not debtors-a lot of very poor people are forced to pay so much that they cant even live if u dont pay child support dont fucking judge people who are too poor and have been taken advantage of by a system that favors women and fucks mens lives over i mean you ms. man up and all that bullshit fuck this countries cs laws and fuck u too
i am glad that “DEAD BEAT DADS” will be arrested for not paying there child support payments, if a man is too POOR to help take care of his kids financially than they should protect them self and wear protection, i agree with this law so much being as i have my sons dad who has not made one single payment since court i mean he dont even offer to see his son but he has enough money to go out with his girlfriend and help take care of her kids…
so who ever came up with this law THANK YOU…..signed a SINGLE MOTHER!
Erlinda-
What happens when a father is making VERY good money as a Real Estate broker in 2006 and is ordered to pay $3,000 a month for child support. He makes all of his payments and then he looses his job in 2008. He does not have a college degree and no one will give him the same job making the same amount because everyone is having a hard time keeping doors open. He gets two jobs but still doesn’t come close to making what he did when child support was figured. He still pays child support but can only come up with $1,500 to $1,800 a month (never misses a month). He looses his condo because he chooses to pay child support instead of the mortgage. He doesn’t get an attorney to modify the support because they are expensive and that means his kids would go without while they battle it out in court. Judgment put on him in September for $30,000- the difference on what he was legally suppose to pay and what he is paying. Now he is completely homeless and staying with his parents because he is giving everything he has to her. Because he can’t pay more then $3,000 a month they are taking him back to court and trying to put him in debtors prison.
WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS IN THAT!!!!!!!!!!
I am sorry that you have a dead beat Dad to deal with, but I have never received one penny of child support from my daughters Dad, and I have made it just fine!
There are two sides to every story and every situation is different, so I beg you to not be so quick to judge!
That’s why you see less commitments these days people and friends here our stories and they get scared to bring a kid in this world. All couse of the god dam child support.. I want a job but i cant find nothing at all it’s been 8 months everyday with a car and a licence now i have nothing.
Smith County in Tyler, Tx is the setting of the famous book “Smith County Justice” about a 1980′s drug busts and corruption in Smith County. The 2010 version of Smith County Justice is Child Support Jail. The judges in Smith County set 2 days per week up just to process jail sentences for late child support. At a time when there is 9.6% unemployment, Dad’s are pulled off the street and taken out of the Child’s life and workforce completely as they disappear into the Smith County Jail system. The first sentence is 6 months (day for day, while drug pushers are earning 4 for 1 time). When the father is released he is on probation and has been out of work for an additional 6 months. They quickly revocate probation when they can’t keep up (the child support continues to increase while in jail) and it becomes a felony with a 2-5 year sentence. So Dad’s are removed from the children’s life over money (sometimes they deserve it but not nearly at the rate these hillbillies are putting them away) and then come out with a record and no job history for 2-5 years. Child Support in Smith County is a life sentence but it pays a lot of lawyers, judges and the self proclaimed infamous J.B. Smith, sheriff.
Someone who can make a dent needs to look into what is going on in Smith County because it is criminal and the inmates are running the asylum as they say.
It is as wrong as wrong gets. They are NOT helping the children, the heart of the case, at all by taking their fathers because they can’t find work.
My husband and I been married for 1year he has a 3yr daughter before met me. We both work good job apt,car paid for and other bills. Now he is out of work laid off from both of his job for two months now. he has paid child support from day one, now we struggling to live to Im paying bills and helping pay his child support his unemployment check doesnt cover enough. I do not want him to go to jail, his ex filed for increase of support from 600 to 850 a month. I support that people should help raise their kids but damn a court order of increase. He has been looking for work he gets about 2interviews a week but now he may be going jail, i dont understand the system you do all the proper forms to show decrease of income and that you are seeking employment an send minimum payments of what can afford aside from what been taking out unemployment check still pending jail time, does not make sense state of TN
How about this scenario for all you “ladies” out there who don’t have a support order. I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years now. He was married and so was I, but like all marriages these days, they are ruined by money. It all started the day my botfriend met a poor helpless woman who was pregnant with another mans child. They ended up married a couple of years later. My boyfriend had a good job, and mind you, took care of the child that she had when they met. They had 2 other children during the marriage. Like many other working fathers these days, he lost his job due to plant closure. He made $16.75 per hour (good job). When he lost his job, she left him. She moved in with her parents, and literally refused to get a job. He paid her child support before there was an order until she asked the state for help and they filed a support order. Now the payments that he made with no support order do not help your case whatsoever, so men, NEVER pay support unless you have an order, take it from someone who has been there. Now on with this story. My boyfriend at 34 has had many many health problems; including: galbladder removal and so many kidney stones that he had to have 10 yes 10 operations in a 3 month period, meanwhile the state based his support at $756.00 per month, added on $13,000.00 to the beginning of the order ( they say that he never paid support while on unemployment, now we have to get an attorney to prove that he did, more money) so to start his support order, he was already $13,000.00 behind. Now this order was set at the wage that he was earning before the seperation what a joke. So now, 3 years later with no job and many health problems, yes at the age of 34 he is $30,000.00 behind and sitting in jail during Christmas. This is all happening while she lives it up at her moms house, pays no bills, and has a drinking and party habit like a 21 college student. Her mom takes care of the kids and she never sees or pays for them, but he still has to pay for her beer tab. I do not believe that my loved one should be sitting behind bars while she is sitting at a bar. Meanwhile she thought it was funny that I was crying when they took my boyfriend away in handcuffs for 30 days. I am so sick of women who sit around and expect the man to take care of them evenafter divorce. Grow up women. This is why you can’t find a decent man to be faithful, what is the use? They just end up in jail anyway. Get your shit together and get an education. Get a good job and take care of your responsibilty as well. While you are sitting in your new car with your welfare check in hand to deposit into your bank account and your ex who raised a child that is not his for 11 years and took good care of you he is now behind bars and missing out on his life. Instead of sitting in the bar until 3 am, stay home and tuck your kids in for school. I strongly believe that both parties should have to pay support to the state maybe then and only then will you find out exactly how hard it is in this day and age to take care of yourself let alone, a women who can’t take care of herself, while she is wearing the nicest mall clothes and driving her nice car and he dosen’t even have a license to get to a job. They take everything you have and every bit of your quality of life. No wonder nobody wants to sign a birth certificate. The government needs to wake up. Who ever is with me, Please call your state rep and voice your opinion, we CAN change these laws, that is our right as Americans, or do we even have any rights left? Send me some emails with your opinions. Thanks for reading my post. I WILL change these laws if I spend my whole life doing so.
The court system has turned a blind eye on finding out who caused the split in the first place and has indiscriminately placed the responsibility of supporting the child on men when in fact, it was the women who has caused the entire situation.
The Moss decision was about which party carries the burden of proof as well as defining ability and willful failure.
It’s holding does not change the law.
The point readers need to understand…
There must be a finding of an ability to pay support and a willful failure to do so in order to support contempt finding. Jail time is based upon the contempt of a court order…not for indebtedness.
Most judges are loath to order jail time precisely because it does preclude the parent from providing that much needed support. Of course there are exceptions and there are a few lousy judges…it is NOT the norm.
Please be wary when you read these horror stories, while probably well intentioned, there usually are missing facts or a misinterpretation.
In response to James post…which adult was a “bad actor” has absolutely nothing to do with the innocent child requiring adequate support from both parents regardless of gender. Perhaps a finding of fault has a valid point in a spousal support case…James theory is that only a child in the care of an “innocent” spouse should receive support from the other parent.
Mm
Not all dads are dead beat dads! Some of us have happened to be have been cheated on by our deadbeat ex wives. Some of us support the kids as much as possible and more so than their ex wife. Go to hell
Most dads are not dead beats!
Most parents do the best they can to privide for their children to the best of there ability.
Mothers can be deadbeats too…I have known many.
There does remain a residual of cultural resistance to women paying money to men. Child support is intended to be gender blind and is for the most part.
Not sure who Trent is sending to hell. Certainly my comments do not suggest any specific gender is culpable of any wrongdoing.
I agree with Trent’s statements . The reverse is equally true.
My position is simply that folks need to be balanced in their acceptance of perspective versus what may be the reality.
Mm
My ex and I have been seperated for 4 years now and have a 4 year old together. He and I went to court and had everything laid out in writing so there would be no confusion as to who was doing what and who is responsible for what (which left him with the visitation of every other weekend plus one day every other week)…….
Well, once our names were signed to the paper, things began to go south. He pays his support off and on and rarely for the actual amount owed each month, much less the arrears. He has only now began telling me occassionally when support is not going to come. I have had it taken out of his checks, taken out of his unemployment, taken all of his last income tax return, and now the whole process is having to start over. My lawyer says it will cost more money to go to court and if he’s having a problem paying now, then adding to it won’t do anything but give him more reason not to pay (if he can’t pay the whole thing, he doesn’t pay – that sounds like a good idea, huh!?).
I have my own business now and a husband who now has two jobs to help provide for us. B/c of this the ex says I am capable of taking care of OUR daughter and if I watched my spending I could afford to take care of her. I have talked DCS and had his wages garnished….. he quit and recieved unemployment. I had that garnished too………. he rode that pony until it ran out. I even recieved his income tax last year (and Im sure I will recieve it this year as well).
The thing I don’t understand is what can I do so that it doesn’t get to this. How the hell am I going to even have a chance of getting money if he’s in jail? Why not make it where you have to sign over your rights if you owe more than 10,000 dollars? I would rather have him not around at all than to have to cater to his visitations while Im struggling to pay the bills. Whats worse, is that I can’t find any help. I get sent to websites with so much legal jargon that it starts to look like Cantoneese instead of English. Im a pretty bright girl but unless your trained in legal vernacular how are you suppose to read it? All I am looking for is TRUE HELP
You are not going to get reliable information from a website…certainly not that deals with the specifics of your situation. It sounds like you are well aware of the various processes open to you.
Suggestion one…think about what your lawyer actually said to you and the rationale. No doubt s/he would have been glad to earn a fee… So not trying to gouge you. Perhaps s/he gave you good advise and you don’t care for the answer. Consult with another attorney who specializes in family law.
It is doubtful that he QUIT his job and also received unemployment…most employers will challenge since it raises their rates.
One piece that can be explained in less than legal jargon…plain English. Parenting time/visitation is about the CHILD’S right to have a relationship her
father! If you think about the visitation and custodial arrangements in terms of the child’s interests, including right to have time with her Dad, rather than a right of either parent. I tend to think of parenting as an obligation to the child rather than the right of the adult…puts things in a different perspective. Yes, it is also the child’s right to receive adequate support from both parents. These are two separate rights of the child!
The right to relationship with both parents is not dependent upon receiving proper economic support.
It sounds like there is continued animosity between you and ex that is outside the support issue. I am going to guess that your daughter is also aware of the conflicts with her father. Not a good thing!! I am also guessing that dad has asked for more time with your daughter…6 days per month is not a great deal. While I might be incorrect about these two guesses, it is very clear that there is some unresolved anger on both your parts.
It would be well worth your while to go to a mediator to help you develop a plan that works for you both, keeping your daughter’s needs and interests as the top priority. It is a less economically and emotionally expensive alternative to litigation and almost always provides a better, more thoughtful agreement. It is also a place where some of your underlying anger can be addressed. You both have an opportunity to be heard. Find a local family mediator…preferably a member of Association for Conflict Resolution..you can go to their website to find one in your area. You can also find a mediator through www. Mediate.com along with great information on the concept and process of mediation.
Hopefully you and ex can resolve the conflict in a way that your daughter benefits both economically and emotionally. Litigation is not the answer for you folks!
rather than the right of either parent
FACT IS there are fathers out there that apparently make it hard for the good dads. But even great fathers have money issues,,,? Every story is different and the court system clumps every story into one little convenient egg carton. Un realistic. Story>
Married 20 yrs, never yelled hit cheated on my wife, she was the boss..She wanted control over everything. So to be a good husband and keep the family together I did whatever I needed to do to get by. We were happy for many yrs. She had an affair, I got evicted from my home, I just purchased for us several months earlier, and she got everything I got nothing. Not even a car. No funds, no accounts, no personal belongings. But she did give me my two daughters every weekend and every wed. But I still had to pay support. Which is fine except, I was living out of my car for several of those months and she threatened me that court ordered me to have my children and if I didn’t take them that would be a violation and she would take all my rights away as a parent.
So yes this is true, I took my children anyways, they slept with me on couches and friends and family members homes, Most of the time when I was out of work I would have them all day and drop them off at night when I had to sleep in my car. Meanwhile the court system was threatening me with prison cuz I wasn’t paying support..even though I couldn’t afford a decent place for my kids to reside I was still faced with prison, even though I proved to the judge over a hundred applications sent to jobs, they still would not lower my support payments to a reasonable amount.
Finally after getting over that un-justification I found a job, and to my surprise was working almost 40 hrs week and bringing home about 86 dollars? Taxes and support….how am I supposed to get a home for my two babies on that, Basically A man in NY State has no rights or cant afford to pay for his rights,, AKA Lawyer..Meanwhile my girls don’t even want to go home now that I do have a place to reside; thanks to a friend who doesn’t charge me rent I work for my stay. I do it for my children, so if there’s NY fathers out there that complain about paying support..get with the program pay however you can, for your children’s sake..you are not use to ‘them in jail. And in NY state,you’ll end up with no License and pos. jail. No matter what legitimate reasons you may have why you can’t pay? In its irrelevant. PS My x has her ceremonial husband next door to her and living with her they have two houses, one in which still in my name on 15 acres of land I purchased…..
You think the court would said they Give your husband a cpl acres so he can have a place for the children? Would make sense right to be fair?..if only for the children’s sake?….Its all on the fathers to un burry themselves after a divorce, not the x or the state..So MEN JUST DO IT. TAKE CONTROL PAY SUPPORT AND BE WELL, IF YOUR EX ISN’T TAKING THE HIGHER ROAD…YOU TAKE IT FOR THE CHILDREN, AND WHEN YOU DO AT ONE POINT YOU’LL BE HAPPY YOU DID .
I would like to know when my grandson dad would be put in jail for not paying childsupport in state of Texas. He was order to pay back childsupport too in October 2010 from the day he was born date of birth Sept 2008. We have file a invorcement Jan 2011 and call Texas Attorney General. This men has already been prison for serval times for theft. I wish they just lock him up and though away the key. He even stold out of my house from my daughter and grandson. He only suppose to pay $266 a month that is not even half what it cost to raise a child. I believe men should pay half what it cost to raise a child. My ex-husband paid me $400 for two kids and that wasn’t half either. So, men have it off easy they just go have their fun and run away from responsability.
I would like to know when the Child Support Laws well change. Not every man is a dead beat dad and my son was not. He loves his son and was a good father. He worked hard to keep the family together until she deceided he was not good enough and left my son for his friend. For a year and a half he has gone through hell. The company he worked for downsized.He lost his job got behind in child support, she took him to court sent him to jail, I gave him the money to get out of jail, which if you don’t know is the way the mother can get her back child support back,so his child support would not keep adding up.
He lost his job and if NYS is not aware the job market is not good. He took a job working in a hamburger shop, child support system is 2 to 4 weeks behind, she took him back to court, he had the paper work stating he paid but the system is slow, she did not care, back to jail he went. This time he lost his job again, in jail can’t pay, lost his license, could not find a job when he was released, finally found a job making $7.25 hour got behind because he could not send the court ordered amount, she took him back to court and back to jail for the THIRD TIME.
The cycle continued. She filed for him to give up his rights to his son because he was did not have a job and could not pay support. It was the hardest choice my son had to make. It was that or continue the cycle of jail, no job, back child support.. This went on for a year and a half. He signed his rights away, I lost my rights to see my grandson the family is heart broken . Now he can’t find a job because of the background checks and the license that was suspended. He is so depressed that I worry about him taking his life. He has lost everything. Is this fair? How does this happen to my son and many many men who get caught up in this cycle of destruction. When is NYS going to stop this cycle. It does not make sense and to think how many families it destroys because of a dollar….
For those of you who think that the “father” going to jail for non payment is stupid… how about my two year old daughter whos “father” doesnt give two craps about her… for 10 moths I did everything I could to keep him around and he wanted nothing to do with it. (while I was pregnant) after my child was born (two months) he split. and now for two years he has done nothing for her.. I didnt lay in the bed by my self and make my child.. but yet he has no responsibility when it come to her… so I AM A FIRM BELIEVER in jail time for non payment!!!! I agree there are some moms out there who take advantage of it.. but In my case I just want justice for my child… No she does not suffer because I go above and beyond the call of duty for her.. all I want is for him to get what he deserves.. everyday is a day in paradise for him doing and going as he pleases so yeah JAIL TIME is the right thing!!!
I am a true believer for deadbeat dads going to jail! granted, in some situations, they set the support above what the non-custodial parent is capable of paying. but there is no excuse for that parent to just not pay! thats a sad excuse that some use ” i dont have a job”….yeah times are hard right now, but if the custodial parent has to struggle just to support the child without any help from the other parent, how is that fair? I had to pawn half of everything i own just to keep a roof over my son’s head, not to mention gas to transport him back and forth to school, money for all of his medications, and to provide him with clothes and food, while his father sits on his ass and complains he cant pay cuz he cant find a job. BULLSHIT, for all you deadbeats, do what you have to do to help YOUR CHILDREN. and for all you parents raising your children alone financially, GOOD JOB, and good luck. hopefully all of your deadbeats end up in jail! maybe that will give them time to think of how important thier children really are!
I am the victim of a child support case, and I have lived on both sides of it. I have a case with my ex and my husband has an order against him to pay support for his child. We have 2 other children together, so 4 kids in the home and one child outside the home. I am a firm believer in ‘if you play you pay’. I have been in and out of court for the last 10 years with my ex. He owe’s my two children $30,ooo, based on $255.49 a month. I’ve tried to express to him, over and over, just put forth any effort, to pay anything. If you can only afford $20 a week, do something to show that your trying to help with your kids, but he won’t even do that. I have spent so much time in the court rooms in Harris County, Texas. It’s a joke, how they do things!
They don’t put dead beat dads in jail, unless they don’t show up to court and then a warrant is issued because of Failure to Appear not lack of payment, but once they are arrested and are brought to court, if they can have a family member, girlfriend or whatever bring some money, even a couple hundred dollars, there released. The Attorney General makes a lot of threats and bluffs but they never back it up. The Attorney General sends me letters, telling me that it’s mandatory that I come to court, but when I get there, it’s for nothing else but to watch my ex-husband sign another piece of paper and watch as he walks out the door a free man.
So, I’m mandated to go to court, so I have to miss a day of work, drive all the way to downtown Houston, pay to park, just to watch him sign a piece of paper that obviously means nothing. I guess I need to start invoicing the state for my lost wages, fuel and parking expense. Attorney General, do your job and I don’t need to be there to watch you push paperwork!!It’s suppose to be an agreement, but he never follows through and there is never consequence as long as he shows up. It’s not viewed as a criminal offense, it’s a ‘family matter’. That’s the problem!! If someone has committed a theft and stole a riding lawnmower worth $3000, they will face a felony charge in Harris County, but this man has robbed my children of $30,000 and still walks free. How is that justice? Theft is theft, and he is constantly robbing, stealing from my children.
My husband walked out of the court room four years ago with a new $12,000 debt. They went back 4 years. He has paid his child support faithfully, but now he has lost his job and has not been able to pay since November. His case is in a different, smaller county, he only owe’s $400 dollars right now and the Attorney General is already started harassing him. Apparently, it depends on what county the case was filed. Small back wood town, you go to jail and it doesn’t take much because they have room to house you, obviously, but in the big city- oh well, the jails are to crowded with shoplifters and drug addicts, it’s to much to make ‘dead beat dads’ go to jail! It’s just a big charade, and in the meantime our tax dollars pay the judges salary, the assistant OAG’s salary, clerks, bailiffs, other court personnel as well as the upkeep of the building, for what a charade? Stop wasting my time!! Stop making me miss work, my only means of providing for my kids, for nothing!!
YES I have seen people in Wisconsin go to jail for less than $500 dollars and more but that is not all some people served time for only 6 months then go for one more year back into jail only because they are responsible for paying the debt in jail but you can’t because your doing time so as soon you get out you have this bigger child support debt after you do your time in jail. So what dose the court tell you but your going back to jail that day you get out because the court said you have no means of paying support because you have no job! But I just got out of jail how could I be able to get a job in jail and now I owe over $1000 dollars now the court tells me now I have to do one more year in jail that is not right! that wrong in so many ways. the real truth is all these county’s in the court system is making money of your ass setting in jail so they make a deal child support of keeping you in the system as long as they can. If you don’t believe me check it out for your self the truth may scare you!