This is the next post in my series discussing actions a parent can take if a payee fails to make court ordered child support payments. My previous post explained steps a parent can take if they do not know the physical location of the parent who has ceased to make their child support payments. In this post I will explain if one needs to hire an attorney in order to enforce a court ordered payment.
Nevada parents on a budget may enforce payments through Child Support Enforcement
The short answer is no. A parent who does not have the finances to hire an attorney, or who would prefer not to pay for an attorney, is not required to do so in order to enforce or apply for child support. The Child Support Enforcement unit is part of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and is available to all residents of the state. Through the CSE a parent may apply for child support for the first time by filling out an application. Once child support is ordered, the paying parent will not make payments directly to the custodial parent, but will make parents to the CSE. The CSE will then in turn either directly deposit the funds into the receiving parent’s account or apply it to a special debit card, depending on which the receiving parent prefers. If this arrangement is set up at the beginning of a case then the CSE will automatically be aware if a paying parent misses a payment and will take automatic steps to enforce the child support payment without the receiving parent having to take any action.
If a parent has moved to Nevada and has an existing child support order from another state, or used an attorney for the original case, one may still have the CSE enforce the order. The same application that one uses to apply for initial child support may be used to report a parent who has ceased to pay on an existing order. A parent will be required to provide the CSE with a copy of the original court order as well as provide a detailed monthly record of what the paying parent has owed and actually paid up until the present.
Hiring a Las Vegas attorney may help a parent obtain their payment faster
If a parent has the means to hire an attorney to deal with late or failed child support payments then there are advantages to doing so. Your attorney can file a motion stating that your child’s parent should be held in contempt of court due to not following the court order. This often results in a parent being paid faster than they would going through the state run CSE. A private attorney may also assist you in obtaining additional back child support one may not know they had the right to claim, asking the court to force the other parent to pay attorney’s fees, or ask the court to automatically garnish a parent’s wages if need be. A parent who wishes to be paid directly, and not through the CSE’s middleman process, should also go through an attorney.
If you are a parent and have not been receiving court ordered child support payments, you have options. Contact my Las Vegas family law office today and schedule a consultation.