The law frowns on parents who fall behind on child support payments. Children rely on support payments to cover many essentials, such as food and health care expenses. Florida residents might find their wages garnished if they do not stay current with their obligations. Some may wonder how many payments can a parent miss before wage garnishments occur.
Missing payments and dealing with garnishments
A parent could make a mistake a miss a monthly payment. That would not likely lead to any garnishment actions, but the parent should take steps to explain to the custodial parent why they failed to send a payment. When in slight arrears, it would be wise to tell the other parent when to expect the funds.
Now, when a parent misses several months of child support, wage garnishment could happen. If it appears the parent is not making payments on their own, the court or the local government may facilitate garnishments. Other actions, such as tax refund seizures, could also occur.
Avoiding garnishments
Anyone struggling to make child support payments should be mindful of the consequences of failing to pay. If the courts or state government contact an employer to garnish wages, the employer-employee relationship may suffer. Legal consequences might become severe as a parent might face arrest for nonpayment of child support. And then, there are the problems the child could face when their care budget decreases.
Anyone running into financial troubles could petition the court for a child support modification. If the parent proves their income decreased or they otherwise suffer from financial troubles, the court may lower the child support amount. Expect the court to scrutinize the parent’s finances before approving such a request. However, informing the court of the situation may avoid troubles that arise from neglecting to pay.