Having children means having the responsibility to financially provide for them. The ending of a relationship does not change that. Parents in Georgia who are ordered to pay child support can either pay now according to the terms of their support orders, or they can really pay later — in more ways than one.
Georgia and other states have enforcement options available to get parents who are behind on their child support obligations to pay up. Last year, a man in another state found out that the failure to pay could actually land him behind bars. He was arrested in May 2017 after not fully meeting his support obligation for roughly 12 years. He did pay a little bit for a while, but in 2011, payments stopped altogether.
In his particular case, the criminal court judge recently ruled that he is to pay $38,000 in back support. He is also to serve five years’ probation. A five-year jail term was also ordered but suspended for now.
Meeting a child support obligation is not always easy. Those ordered to do it may have a number of reasons as to why they cannot. It may be okay, as long as the appropriate actions to address the matter are taken as soon as possible. Parents in Georgia who cannot make their support payments due to their current financial situations, or who have other reasons as to why they are unable to supply payments, may seek order modifications by filing the appropriate petitions in court. This they can do with the assistance of legal counsel.
Source: localmemphis.com, “DeSoto County Father Ordered To Pay Back Child Support Of $38,000”, Feb. 7, 2018