Failing to financially support one’s child can have pretty significant consequences. Massachusetts and all other states have child support enforcement options available that, if utilized, really can affect an individual personally and professionally. Those who are struggling to meet their child support obligations can take steps to resolve the issue long before any enforcement actions are taken.
One state recently shared its success in getting noncustodial parents to pay child support by refusing to renew vehicle registrations. According to a recent news report, this particular state denied 14,500 noncustodial parents the ability to register their cars over the past year. This is not something that these individuals found about at the time that they went to register their vehicles. The were sent warning letters 90 days in advance.
Denying individuals the ability to register their vehicles has resulted in the state collecting just short of $4 billion in child support since Sept. 2016. Why was this so effective? People need their cars for personal and professional reasons, so it is a pretty significant thing to hold over their heads until they pay.
Denying vehicle registrations is one child support enforcement option that the state of Massachusetts also has the right to utilize. Of course, there are many others as well. Rather than facing the problems that accompany enforcement actions, noncustodial parents who lack the ability to keep their support payments current can seek support order adjustments with the assistance of legal counsel. Achieving a modification can be difficult, but an experienced attorney can help one take all the steps necessary in the hopes of achieving a favorable outcome.
Source: kxan.com, “Failure to pay child support leads to over 14K vehicle registration denials”, Sarah Rafique, Aug. 29, 2017