How To Get Child Support From An Out-Of State Parent

26 March 2015
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If your child's other parent lives in a different state than you and the child, you may be struggling to get the child support the court awarded you. While the process is a bit longer than if you were in the same state, you can be receiving regular child support payments with a little work and patience.

Finding the Other Parent

Sometimes, the other parent has not told you where he or she is living. If you know the state the parent moved to, contact the state's child support office. They have access to unemployment insurance records. If the parent is not working, they can check motor vehicle records. When you do not know which state he or she has moved to, your local child support agency can check credit-reporting bureaus for a current address. Unfortunately, many child support agencies are overloaded with work and the process of finding the parent you are looking for can take some time. If you have the financial means, you can hire a private investigator to locate the missing parent.

Garnish the Other Parent's Wages

Once you have found the other parent, and where he or she works, have a family lawyer file a petition with the court that ordered the child support to have the employer garnish the missing parent's wages. Federal law states that all child support wage garnishment orders must be followed whether from the same state or not.

Sale of Assets

If the other parent is not currently working, you can still get some type of support from them. Once the court has determined there is no income, they can put a lien on any assets of value. This is usually done to real estate or motor vehicles. When the asset is sold, the funds will go to the custodial parent. When no child support has been paid for more than six months, the court may revoke the parent's driver's license and vehicle registration. This often results in the sale of the vehicle. While it may not be all the money owed, it is a start.

The important thing to remember is that you can receive the child support you are owed. Hire a lawyer experienced in family law and get things started. Your child deserves to be cared for properly and part of that means you should not have to work extra jobs to make up for the money the other parent should be paying. Contact an attorney such as Mercedes O Chut PA for more information.