By Julia Dasaro of The Dasaro Law Firm on Tuesday, December 29, 2015.

A common issue which we often see is the nonpayment of child support. From the recipient’s side, the nonpayment of support can be everything from inconvenient to a devastating financial hardship when that support check is necessary to make ends meet. On the payor’s side, the inability to survive on the remainder of the income once the support is paid can be just as equally devastating. However, nonpayment of support is not something to be taken lightly.

In New Jersey, per N.J.S.A. 2:17-56.7, et seq. and Rule 5:7-5(b)(3), the child support provisions of a court order are subject to income withholding on the effective date of the order unless the parties agree, in writing, to an alternative arrangement or either party shows and the Court finds good cause to establish an alternative arrangement. The income withholding is effective upon on types of income, including wages from current and future employment. Further, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.8, the child support provisions of an order shall, and the medical support provision may, as appropriate, be enforced by an immediate income withholding upon the current or future income due from the obligor’s employer or successor employers and upon the unemployment compensation benefits due the obligor and against debts, income, trust funds, profits or income from any other source due the obligor except as provided in N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.9.

Even if there is no income withholding mechanism for the payment of child support, it is still not an obligation to ignore. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.9 and Rule 5:-4(d), (1) if immediate income withholding is not ordered, the child support provisions of an order of judgment are nonetheless subject to income withholding when a child support arrearage has accrued in an amount equal to or in excess of the amount of support payable for 14 days. The withholding is effective against the obligor’s current and future income from all sources authorized by law. Subject to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.7 et seq. (“New Jersey Support Enforcement Act”), the income withholding shall take effect without amendment to the support order or further court or quasi-judicial action and without regard to any alternative arrangements entered into by the parties. If the support goes unpaid, the Court can impose a wage execution against the payor’s income anyway even if the parties have not agreed to it.

There are very serious repercussions for nonpayment of child support. Specifically, the following are permitted by law:

1. Suspension of Licenses: pursuant to N.J.S.A 2A:17-56.8 and Rule 5:7-4(d), the driver’s occupational, recreational, and professional licenses, including a license to practice law, held or applied for by the obligor may be denied, suspended or revoked if: (1) the child support arrearage is equal to or exceeds the amount of child support payable for six months; (2) the obligor fails to provide health insurance for the children as ordered by the court for six months; or (3) a warrant for the obligor’s arrest has been issued by the court due to failure to pay child support as ordered, failure to appear at a hearing to establish paternity or child support, or failure to appear at a hearing to enforce a child support order and said warrant remains outstanding. This means that a payor’s drivers license can be suspended or if they have a professional license, such as for example a Commercial Driver’s License, medical license, a law license or the like, the professional license and therefore ability to be actively engaged in that field of work is also suspended.

2. Entry of Judgment: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.23a and Rule 5:7-4(d), any payment or installment for child support is a judgment by operation of law on or after the date it is due. The judgment has the effect of a lien against the obligor’s real or personal property. This may adversely affect the obligor’s ability to obtain credit or transfer real property. For example, if the payor owns a home and goes to sell it, but has a judgment against them for unpaid child support, the support acts a lien against the property and the sale cannot be completed unless or until the support lien is paid off.

3. Reporting & Tax Intercept: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.16, child support arrearages must be reported to the State Department of the Treasury for offset against any income tax refund/homestead rebate due the obligor. This means that if the payor owes child support and is due a refund of any kind, the refund can be seized and applied to the child support arrears.

4. Incarceration: The Court also incarcerate a payor for failure to pay child support. Typically, this happens when substantial arrears have been accrued without any good faith effort at payment and the Court issues a bench warrant for the person’s arrest. The payor is released upon payment of the purge amount which is then applied against the child support arrears due. However, it is also important to note that the nonpayment of child support can not only be considered a violation of the Court’s Order, but as a crime. N.J.S.A. 2C:62-1 treats willful nonsupport as a crime for which a payor can be charged criminally and prosecuted in addition to being found to be in contempt of the support Order.

If the receiving party is having trouble collecting the child support or the payor is having trouble paying the support, there can be recourse and our office may be able to help. Please call our office to discuss your options before you end up in an emergency situation.