Child support is designed to help children maintain the lifestyle that they were accustomed to when their parents were married. It is based off of the belief that children are entitled to the same amount of financial support that they would have received had their parents stayed together. Children should not have to suffer financially because of the decisions made by their parents.
One Michigan man failed to see the importance of paying child support, and as a result, was sentenced to jail time. The 40-year-old man failed to pay child support for his four children, and accumulated a debt of $92,000 within the past 15 years. Failure to pay child support in Michigan is a felony, and people may face up to four-years in prison if charged with this offense.
The Michigan Department of Corrections Probations looks at each case separately to determine the best course of action for repaying the child support debt. While courts traditionally allow offenders to go on probation, work and make payments to their children, the judge in this case felt as though the man would not pay back the funds. The judge sentenced the father to one year in prison.
When people are negligent in making child support payments that have been set by the court, they run the risk of going to jail. Custodial parents who are not receiving child support may want to contact a family attorney in Michigan to learn more about child support enforcement, and your options of obtaining the money your child deserves.
Source: The Daily Reporter, “Lack of effort to pay child support sends Payne to jail,” Don Reid, Mar. 14, 2017.