Which Court for Child Support Enforcement?
Saturday / September 22, 2007
State court, federal court, or both? It depends.
This recent story from West
Virginia announced: "A federal magistrate in
Charleston sentenced an Ohio man to five years
probation on Thursday for failing to pay child
support." But wait a minute - isn't child
support a matter of state law? Isn't that why we
have links to all fifty states and the District
of Columbia on The Child Support Web?
The fact is that child support enforcement proceedings can be brought in either state or federal courts, or sometimes in both. The choice of courts depend on the type of relief sought and also on how much is owed.
The Ohio man sentenced in the West Virginia federal court had violated the federal Child Support Recovery Act. To be prosecuted under this criminal statute, a noncustodial parent must be at least one year behind in payments or $5,000 in arrears, and the child must live in another state.
States can criminally prosecute, too. For example, just last week a Texas court sentenced a man to two years in jail for failing to pay his child support.
Most child support cases are not criminally prosecuted. Courts have various civil remedies for attempting to collect child support. Only when there have been flagrant violations has the criminal law come into play.
The fact is that child support enforcement proceedings can be brought in either state or federal courts, or sometimes in both. The choice of courts depend on the type of relief sought and also on how much is owed.
The Ohio man sentenced in the West Virginia federal court had violated the federal Child Support Recovery Act. To be prosecuted under this criminal statute, a noncustodial parent must be at least one year behind in payments or $5,000 in arrears, and the child must live in another state.
States can criminally prosecute, too. For example, just last week a Texas court sentenced a man to two years in jail for failing to pay his child support.
Most child support cases are not criminally prosecuted. Courts have various civil remedies for attempting to collect child support. Only when there have been flagrant violations has the criminal law come into play.
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