Lindsay Blanks, a local attorney, says this is one of the most common questions 
he receives.

Parents are required by law to support their children. One cannot stop the other parent from visiting with the child based on nonpayment of child support. The courts consider these to be two separate and distinct issues.

“If the other parent doesn’t pay, you still have to let him or her see the children,” Blanks says. “And if the custodial parent doesn’t allow the other parent to see the children, he or she still has to pay.”

Blanks offers some answers to parents with questions regarding child support.

For more information, visit www.charleston-lawyer.com.

Try not to be negative

It is important to remember not to say anything bad about the other parent in front of the children. For example, never say “You could have that new bicycle if your father/mother would pay child support.”

“You should always encourage [kids to have] a relationship with the other parent because children are masters at manipulation,” Blanks says. “If they think they can use you against each other, they’re going to do that. You might feel the need to say something bad or negative about the other parent, particularly when they aren’t doing their share, but in the long run it harms the children when they hear you talk negative about the other parent.”

Where to get help

First, if the parent doesn’t pay child support, either contact a private attorney or the South Carolina Department of Social Services at (800) 768-5858. The Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Social Services is a state program that helps establish paternity and enforces child support orders for individuals receiving its services.

There are advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the services of a private attorney versus the services of DSS. The great advantage to using DSS is that the services are free or nearly free. DSS also has some tools available (such as seizure of tax refunds) that are not available to private attorneys. A private attorney, on the other hand, will be faster to respond, but the services will cost more. The court will sometimes order the non-paying parent to reimburse the custodial parent for the cost of attorneys’ fees in collecting child support.

Second, once a child support order is established, the court will help enforce the order if the child support is being paid through the court. The parent who is owed child support should contact the court and request a rule to show cause to the offending parent, which will call him or her back into court. If the offending parent cannot show good cause as to why he or she did not pay as ordered, he or she can be held in contempt of court.

A parent found in contempt of court can be fined, jailed for up to one year, ordered to perform community service or a combination of all three. It is common for the offending parent who is being brought into court on a contempt action to be ordered to pay the child support immediately or go straight to jail.

Child support can be modified

Child support is always modifiable and can be increased or decreased depending on circumstances.

“If a parent loses his or her job through no fault of their own, as so many people have today, they can petition the court to have their child support lowered,” Blanks says. “You should file your request with the court as soon as possible. Do not wait until you are behind to ask for a reduction.”

You can file the paperwork yourself or pay an attorney to assist you.

Some factors that may affect the amount of child support are the cost for day care or after-school care as well as the cost to maintain the child’s health insurance. Any change in these costs can result in an increase or decrease in the child support.

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