Child Support and Visitation Enforcement

If the non-custodial parent isn’t making child support payments as specified by the court order, the custodial parent can file an enforcement order with the appropriate court. By doing this, the custodial parent is actually asking the judge to force the delinquent parent to follow court orders. If a parent is obligated to pay child support and fails to, the Office of the Texas Attorney General can take punitive actions, such as:

• Contempt: A court may force the person to pay a fine for each missed payment or sentenced to jail if they fail to pay child support.
• License suspension: The Texas Attorney General can ask 60 licensing agencies to suspend fishing, hunting, drivers, and professional licenses if a parent does not pay child support.
• Liens: The Texas Attorney General can file liens against the property and assets of the parent who is failing to pay court-ordered child support.
• Lottery winnings: If you win the lottery, the prize will be intercepted and used to pay child support arrears.
• Passport denial or non-renewal: If you do not pay child support, you may not be able to get a passport or renew an expired passport.
• Wage withholding: Authorities can also make paying parent’s employer deduct child support from their paychecks.

If the other parent of your child is failing to timely pay the court-ordered child support you and your child or children are due, you should hire a lawyer to pursue child support enforcement on your behalf.

Enforcement of Visitation

Keeping a consistent child custody schedule is very important for the emotional wellbeing of both children and their parents. Children benefit most when both parents –acting in the children’s best interests – have relationships with their children and financially support them. With this in mind, once the court sets up a formal visitation agreement for child custody, all parties must abide by it. Child custody becomes complicated when one parent fails to exercise their period of rightful visitation – when one parent fails to permit the other to have visitation with their child to which they are legally entitled – or when any other violation of a visitation agreement occurs.

If your ex-spouse or the other parent of your child is failing to follow the visitation agreement outlined in your divorce decree and/or child custody order, you can work with the Law Office of Ilana R. Tanner to enforce it for the good of your children. When your child’s other parent is making your life difficult by ignoring or changing visitation schedules, enforcement is an option.

Austin Child Support Attorneys

Talk to our Austin family lawyers about your visitation or support enforcement case today. We can discuss how to get your child or children’s other parent to follow the rules of the divorce decree and/or child custody order. The Law Office of Ilana R. Tanner routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, contact one of our Austin, Texas child support lawyers to protect your rights.