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As a Colorado Springs divorce attorney specializing in child support, I am always amazed at how far some parents will go to avoid paying child support.  What is so disturbing about this trend is that it reveals the lack of character and responsibility that comes out in some parents when faced with the reality of supporting their kids after a divorce.  While this is not true of every parent who is not paying child support, it is a problem that needs to be addressed.

In cases where the non-custodial parent is a father who only sees his children every other weekend, animosity between the parents often grows and the father may think he is not spending enough time with his children to warrant the financial burdens of raising them.  When there is jealousy over a former spouse’s remarriage, bitterness and resentment can often be the catalyst for nonpayment of child support.  Or, it could be that the custodial parent and children moved out of state, and the paying parent isn’t spending much time with his or her children. 

Unfortunately, there are some parents who are simply resistant to the concept of child support. This is especially true among parents with substance abuse issues, who refuse to take their responsibilities seriously and look for ways to punish their ex-spouse for the divorce. 

Here are some ways these parents get away with not paying child support:

• They stop working and live off of others.  Once their unemployment benefits run out, they stop paying support.  Some even go on public assistance to avoid support.
• They work “under the table” and do not report their income to the IRS, so when it comes time to enforce a support order it looks like they have no income.
• He or she will stop calling and/or seeing the children so they can avoid dealing with the custodial parent and facing the responsibility.
• The parent not paying child support will petition for joint custody as a way to change the support order.  Some will even try to split up siblings. 
• Some parents even move out of town and avoid their children completely, just to keep from making child support payments. 
• Parents who have exceptionally large balances to pay off in “child support arrears” will bargain with their ex and make promises in order to get that parent to “write off the arrears”.  This is usually just a tactic to reduce or remove the debt, and these promises are rarely kept.

If any of these tactics sound familiar to you, or your ex is not paying child support, a Colorado Springs divorce lawyer can help.  Child support lawyers have seen every trick in the book when it comes to nonpayment of child support, so they will know exactly how to deal with each tactic.