Child support is an obligation of both parents. It’s one that must be fulfilled in order to ensure the continued wellbeing, health, and growth of a child or children even after a marriage has ended. In some cases, collecting this money becomes necessary when a non-custodial parent moves out of state or even the country.
Collecting child support can become complicated if a parent refuses to submit information or cooperate. In this instance, it may be necessary to hire an attorney in order to successfully collect child support from a different state.
Interstate child support enforcement
In order to collect child support in another state, it’s necessary to go through a legal process. This enforcement can happen on an informal or formal basis and is often decided based on the situation at hand.
An example might be collecting from someone who lives out of state without first getting their approval for the change in the jurisdiction — this would fall under informal enforcement. This can happen with formal child support enforcement when it’s necessary to collect from someone who refuses to pay or is avoiding payment for their obligations in the state where they live, meaning collecting across state lines becomes a necessity.
Requesting enforcement of a child support order in another state
In many cases, collecting child support is an obligation of both parents. However, if a non-custodial parent refuses to pay or withholds any payments owed for the care and upbringing of their children, it can become necessary to have someone else collect this money on behalf of those who are legally entitled to these funds while living in another state.
The collecting parent will need to hire an attorney in order to collect child support from a different state. This can be done on an informal or formal basis, depending on the situation at hand — for example, if they’re collecting from someone who lives out of state and hasn’t given approval for jurisdiction change first (informal enforcement) or collecting from someone who refuses to pay (formal enforcement).
Only the custodial parent, a legal guardian for the child, an agency that has been given parental responsibility by the court, or certain government agencies can request this order. The person requesting must provide evidence of their relationship with the children and also information on where they live as well as where the non-custodial parent resides.
The collecting state has to show that they meet certain qualifications such as:
- Having laws in place for child support,
- Rnforcing these laws, and
- Collecting payments on behalf of those who are legally entitled to it.
Contact an experienced attorney
If you are collecting child support payments in another state, the best thing to do is talk to an attorney. Collecting child support in another state can be complicated and hard work. It’s important that you get a Tacoma Divorce Attorney involved before collecting any money so they know what rights you have and how to push for them effectively.