Even though men and women have equal rights to custody, more often than not, the mother has the children more of the time and the father pays child support. Of course, that’s not an absolute. Sometimes, the parents have joint custody and the higher-earning parent pays child support or the father has custody and it’s the mother who pays child support.
Regardless, it’s more common for fathers to be paying child support and when an ex-wife or girlfriend won’t let a man see his children, his initial reaction may be to withhold child support. This scenario described above is not uncommon.
Perhaps the mother is bitter about something the father did in the relationship, or perhaps the former couple has had trouble getting along since they were married. The mother gets mad and as a way to get back at the father, she won’t let him see her children during his court-ordered time with his children. Frustrated, the father lashes back by saying, “Oh really? I’ll show you, I’ll stop paying child support!” But is this a wise reaction? Read on as we explain the implications of withholding child support.
Paying Parents Can’t Stop Payments
If a custodial parent intentionally withholds the children from a custodial parent, the noncustodial (paying) parent cannot stop paying child support to “teach them a lesson” or motivate the other parent to let them see their children.
Child support and child custody are not linked in this manner; the obligation has nothing to do with seeing one’s kids. A noncustodial parent has to pay child support no matter what, even if they are disabled, mentally ill, incarcerated, in the hospital, unemployed, or not being allowed to see their children.
If you skip payments, the local child support agency will take all kinds of enforcement actions against you, such as bank account seizures, tax refund intercept, taking your stimulus check, real estate liens, negative credit reporting, wage garnishment, license suspensions (e.g. license, professional, and recreational), and U.S. passport denial, etc. So, what choice do you have?
You Have Legal Rights!
For starters, continue making your child support payments, but contact our firm right away. What you want to do is take your ex to court to enforce the child custody order. If you can prove that he or she is intentionally withholding the children from you, the court will take action to enforce the court orders.
If the problem persists, it can result in contempt of court or the judge may even consider awarding you custody. You do have rights, you just need to act fast and contact our firm so we can help you enforce them through the courts.