As a parent in Michigan, your parental responsibilities don’t end after your marriage does. Even after divorcing your partner, it’s still important to provide your child with the same financial stability that they would have had by growing up in a household with two sources of support. This is why child support payments are made. But what can you do if your ex-spouse isn’t paying?
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there are a number of options to pursue in order to ensure child support payments are made. The first thing to keep in mind is that being charged with avoiding child support payments can be categorized as a felony, which is a huge deterrent in and of itself.
It’s also possible to impact your ex-spouse’s finances. For example, their income could be withheld until they make their payments. If they are to receive a tax return, it might be intercepted. Their personal property might have a lien placed on it.
You could also work to restrict their movements. Any license they have could be suspended until the payments are made, including licenses for sports, commercial usage, or driving. These licenses may even be revoked in some cases. If they apply for other licenses during this period, those applications will be denied. This also goes for passport applications, which are denied if your ex-spouse is two or more payments behind at the time of their application.
These are just a few of the methods that can be used to make sure you’re getting the support payments that your child deserves. To look into these options or other ones, you may want to contact a legal professional.