In the eyes of the law, both parents are responsible for providing for their children financially, regardless of their relationship.
As a custodial parent, you are meeting this obligation on top of being your child’s primary caretaker. At the very least, your coparent must fulfill their responsibility by paying child support regularly. But what can you do if they don’t, either intentionally or otherwise?
Kentucky offers several options for collecting child support payments:
Contact the Kentucky Child Support Enforcement (KCSE) office
The KCSE helps parents collect child support in a number of ways. For example, they can work with federal agencies, courts and other authorities to:
- Request a court action for jail time
- Intercept your ex’s tax refund
- Apply liens on your ex’s property
- Deny your ex’s passport
- Suspend or revoke your ex’s driver’s or hunting license
- Withhold unemployment benefits
The agency can also help you locate your former partner, collect information and establish paternity, if necessary.
Request wage garnishment
Kentucky law requires all child support orders to have an order for income withholding. Income withholding deducts child support balances from the noncustodial parent’s wages or other income.
There are only several exceptions to wage garnishment, such as income from public assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Veteran’s Disability Benefits. Most sources of income are subject to income withholding.
The KCSE can help arrange enforcement with your ex’s employer. This can help guarantee payments as long as your ex is employed.
File a motion of contempt
A child support order is legally binding, which means violating it can be contempt of court. If the CSE does not file this motion, you can do it yourself by filing a motion to show cause. This will require your former partner to appear in court and explain (show cause) why they have not been paying child support.
If the court finds them in contempt, it may order your ex to pay current and unpaid child support. Otherwise, they may face fines, jail or other sanctions.
Consider working with an attorney
Collecting child support should not have to be difficult. If you are in this situation right now, working with an experienced attorney might help make the process easier. Legal guidance can be invaluable in enforcing a child support order, especially when you need to go to court.
