Your ex-spouse has stopped paying child support payments, and you wonder how you will sustain your child’s necessities with only your income. Your child’s non-custodial parent may even live in a state other than Missouri, so you worry that unless you take legal action, you will not receive your court-ordered support.
Know that if your ex-spouse illegally evades child support payments, Missouri court holds the right to obtain payments in other forms. The Family Support Division (FSD) works diligently to ensure that overdue payments do not affect your child’s life, and that you can continue to support your child using funds provided to you. If you require adjusted child support payments, ensure that you seek the help of a family law attorney to bring a claim to Missouri court to receive accurate support.
The Family Support Division and locating support
According to Missouri law, the FSD holds the right to enforce Missouri court-ordered child custody payments. Even if the non-custodial parent owing support lives outside of Missouri, the FSD can obtain payments.
Yet if your ex-spouse does not accurately support your child, the FSD has the authority to remove the funds by other means. According to Missouri law, the FSD can legally remove owed child support payments from the following income.
- Wages: Your spouse’s bi-weekly checks will come minus owed support.
- Unemployment benefits: If your ex-spouse loses his or her job, the FSD can remove the owed support from government checks.
- Workers’ compensation benefits: If your ex-spouse faced a work injury and receives benefits, your child deserves a portion of the compensation for owed support.
- Social Security Disability: If your ex-spouse faces injury or suffers from a disability not allowing him or her to work, the FSD could remove owed support from SSD checks.
- Tax refunds: Child support may be removed from state and federal tax refund payments.
In addition to removing funds from various forms of income, the FSD can enforce penalties such as:
- Referring your ex-spouse to a credit bureau
- Enforcing financial liens on your ex-spouse
- Intercepting lottery winnings
- Suspending your ex-spouse’s driver’s license
The Missouri FSD works to ensure that you and your child are provided for through court-ordered child support. If your ex-spouse refuses to pay, it is possible that you will receive support by other means other than income. If you face a dispute in child support, you may want to hire an attorney to aid in determining the right course of action.
