Being responsible by making child support payments in time is very important and for those who fail to pay, penalties or certain enforcement strategies are used to force payment.An attorney is the best resource for information regarding child support and custody issues and should be consulted before a hearing or before participating in any legal proceedings.

There are several factors that go into determining the amount paid each month from the wages of both the custodial and non-custodial parent to the amount paid in health insurance premiums by each parent. The court really has the final words in the amount that should be paid each month. Failure to pay child support may be met with certain enforcement penalties like the suspension of your driver's license or the retrieval of the negligible parent's tax return. The state may also intercept worker's compensation benefits, lottery winnings and/or unemployment payments if you fail to pay.

Wage garnishment is another commonly used type of child support payment enforcement. In this situation, your wages may be intercepted and used to make your child support payments. At time, one or both parents may become unemployed and is unable to make payments at the originally agreed upon amount. If this is the case, notify the family law court at once.

Logically, the unemployed parent needs to be searching for work, but payment may be put on hold and altered until you secure employment and can resume making payments at the original amount. Understand, though, that your responsibility for making child support payments does not go away if you become unemployed and enforcement will still be used to force payment in most cases. That's why you must inform the court immediately of your change in employment status. For more information about child support or other family law issues, speak with a qualified attorney in the area.