DELINQUENT CHILD SUPPORT DRAINS MINNESOTA PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP

While Minnesota ranks fourth in the United States in getting non-custodial parents to pay something toward child support, these parents still owe a combined $1.5 billion in delinquent payments.

Only 20 percent of non-custodial parents in Minnesota are current on their child support obligation, with 60 percent of these parents reportedly paying less than 75 percent of what they owe.

Delinquent child support payments not only hurt the child and the custodial parent, who presumably needs the payments to provide for the child's care, but also may burden the state's social welfare system. In some cases, when a parent does not receive child support, that parent must turn to government aid in order to keep the family afloat.

In order to remind parents of their legal obligation to financially support their children and in order to promote child support enforcement efforts, Minnesota named August Child Support Awareness Month. Ideally, statewide efforts such as Child Support Awareness Month will help custodial parents to collect outstanding payments.

A Minnesota resident does have some options to pursue child support enforcement. A parent who fails to pay child support timely may forfeit his or her tax refund check, for example. They may also face penalties, including a driver's license suspension, fines, a lien on their home, suspension on a hunting license or a professional license and, in some cases, jail time.

Getting the right information is essential in pursuing all efforts to collect delinquent child support. Additionally, if the paying parent feels that a child support order is out of line, it is important that he or she seeks to modify the order legally rather than put him- or herself in contempt of court by refusing to pay the ordered amount.

Source: Public News Service, "Unpaid child support puts pressure on state programs, taxpayers," Aug. 13, 2012

COULD YOU END UP IN JAIL FOR NOT PAYING CHILD SUPPORT?

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP

Authorities recently arrested a 50-year-old man in Ohio who owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid child support payments. After ignoring court cases and evading warrants for four years, police finally tracked the man down after a stake out at his friend’s home.

The man has been accused of owing approximately $368,000 in back child support to the mothers of his various children. While it is unclear just how many children he has, authorities admit the man has 24 support cases pending just in the state of Ohio. He is currently being held in jail for 390 days: 30 days for each of the 13 contempt of court warrants issued against him. According to Chief Deputy Ted Patrick, “As far as child support cases go, he was public enemy number one.”

What does this mean for residents in Minnesota? Just like in Ohio, a Minnesota resident in contempt of child support payments could risk going to jail if he or she does not pay a support obligation.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is the state agency that regulates child support. Each county has a support and enforcement office. The child support agency can ask the court to find a parent in contempt of court if he or she was ordered to pay support, knew about the order, and has refused to pay without good reason. The child support agency can pursue a contempt action if:

• The non-custodial parent owes support according to an order or decree for support;
• The non-custodial parent owes court-ordered child support or maintenance arrears in an amount at least three times their total monthly support and maintenance obligation; and
• The non-custodial parent is not complying with a written payment plan approved by the court or the child support agency.

If found in contempt, the court can then order the parent to serve a jail sentence.

Source: CNN, “Fugitive arrested for owing $300K in child support,” Lorrie Taylor, February 4, 2015. 

CAUSE OF DECLINING DIVORCE RATE UP FOR DEBATE

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP

It seems generally accepted that the rate of marital dissolutions in Minnesota and around the country is declining. Every state that measures its divorce rates has reported a decrease in the actual number of divorces. Moreover, the annual divorce rate has dropped about 30 percent over the years.

A writer for one prominent blog cited experts who attributed this decline to a number of factors. He argued that the recent poor economy contributed to the trend, perhaps because unhappy couples cannot afford to get a divorce. Some also have suggested that women having more opportunities at work have played a role; others have suggested that society's greater openness to couples living together before marriage has contributed to the decline.

However, another noted writer disagreed, saying that in reality, the percentage of marriages that end in divorce has consistently remained at about 50 percent. He argues that the divorce rate has dropped in direct portion with the country's marriage rate, which has also been on a steady decline. Only half of Americans are married now, down from 75 percent in earlier years, and the vast majority of people are now getting married after they turn 30.

With more people viewing marriage as an afterthought, the face of family law may also have to change fundamentally. Divorce lawyers will more and more be dealing with people who have never been married at all. Yet these same people will require a division of property and custody and support orders just the same as a divorcing couple would.

For now, as we have written in other posts, the best thing that an unmarried couple in Minnesota can do is sign a cohabitation agreement that at least sets out how property will be divided if something goes wrong in the couple's relationship. In the future, however, new laws may begin to recognize that the country's view of marriage has changed profoundly.

Source: World, "Divorce/marriage stays the same," Marvin Olasky, April 18, 2013