CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Faulkner Legal Group, P.A., an Orlando divorce law firm, handles a variety of divorce related issues in the Orlando, Central Florida and surrounding areas as well as the State of Florida as a whole. As an Orlando divorce lawyer, attorney David A. Faulkner represents clients with regard to enforcement of Florida child support awards.
Florida divorce child support orders are enforceable just as any other non-criminal order. The following are some of the remedies available for the aggrieved former spouse to secure payment of alimony/spousal support arrears (meaning unpaid support:
Money judgment from the court
Execution and sale of the payor's property
Garnishment of the payor's property
Contempt proceedings
Sequestration of the payor's assets
Suspension of drivers license
Uniform enforcement laws
MONEY JUDGMENTS FROM THE COURT
If there is unpaid child support (arrears), the child recipient may get a judgment against the payor parent in the amount of any past due child support (arrearage). Once there is a judgment, the child support recipient may pursue collection activities to get the payor parent to pay the amount of the judgment.
EXECUTION AND SALE OF THE ALIMONY PAYOR'S PROPERTY
''Execution'' is a means of enforcing court judgments and orders. The child support recipient parent asks the court for a ''writ of execution'' directing the local sheriff to take and sell specified property of the child support payor. That property is then sold by the sheriff (''sheriff's sale''), and the money from the sale is given to the child support recipient to pay towards the child arrearage.
WAGE GARNISHMENT
Child support payments can be taken directly from the earnings of the child support payor via ''wage garnishment orders'' and ''income deduction orders.''
It is important to note, however, that federal and state laws might restrict the amount or percentage of the payor parent's wages that can be garnished, and some funds are not subject to being garnished at all.
CONTEMPT PROCEEDINGS
''Contempt'' is the violation of a valid order of a court. If a child support payor refuses to comply with court-ordered child support, then that payor may be held in indirect contempt of court (meaning the act of disobedience did not occur in the presence of the court).
Contempt can be either criminal or civil. The purpose of criminal contempt is to punish the disobedience. The purpose of civil contempt is to gain compliance with the court's order. Civil contempt, therefore, is intended to be coercive, not punitive in nature.
Because each failure to comply with a court order can be a separate contempt, when it comes to child support, the payor parent can be charged with a separate contempt for each payment missed and can be punished for each offense. The possible penalties for criminal contempt include a incarceration (jail), a fine, or both. A payor parent charged with criminal contempt is afforded the same rights and due process as individuals charged with other criminal offenses.
Civil contempt may also involve incarceration. Such incarceration is always accompanied by what is commonly known as a "purge amount," which is an amount the payor parent must pay towards alimony arrears to secure his or her freedom. Whether criminal or civil contempt is involved, the payor parent must have had or must have the ability to pay the child support arrears in whole or inpart.
SEQUESTRATION
After the recipient parent gets a money judgment for the amount of past due child support, he or she files an application for sequestration, where the court will order that certain of the debtor parent's property be held until the debtor pays the debt. Sequestration can be requested after the payor parent is in arrears and has refused to comply with a court order to pay the debt.
DRIVERS LICENSE SUSPENSION
One possible remedy against a parent who is in arrears with regard to child supoort is to seek to have that parent's Florida Drivers License suspended.
UNIFORM ENFORCEMENT LAWS
If one spouse moves out of state, the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (''RURESA'') and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (''UIFSA'') both may allow the new state to enforce an existing order for child support.
WHERE TO GET LEGAL HELP?
If you have a Florida divorce related issue concerning enforcement of a child support award, then contact Faulkner Legal Group, P.A. so that Orlando divorce lawyer David A. Faulkner can inform you of your legal rights. Call today.