Columbus GA Child Support Lawyers

Family Law Attorney in Columbus, GA

GA Child Support Enforcement Agencies: Ensuring Your Child’s Financial Security

When it comes to child support, ensuring the financial security of your child is of utmost importance. In Georgia, several government agencies are dedicated to enforcing child support orders and ensuring that parents meet their financial obligations. Understanding the role and functions of these child support enforcement agencies is crucial for parents seeking assistance. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the various child support enforcement agencies in Georgia and how they can help you secure the support your child deserves.

Columbus, GA Family Lawyer | The Law Offices of Scot Sikes

The Georgia Division of Child Support Services (DCSS)

The Georgia Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) is the primary agency responsible for child support enforcement in the state. Their mission is to help parents establish paternity, establish and enforce child support orders, and collect child support payments. Here are some key services offered by the DCSS:

1. Establishing Paternity: The DCSS assists parents in establishing paternity when it is in question. This is essential for determining child support obligations.
2. Establishing and Modifying Child Support Orders: The DCSS helps parents establish initial child support orders and also facilitates modifications when there are significant changes in circumstances, such as changes in income or custody arrangements.
3. Locating Non-Custodial Parents: If a non-custodial parent is difficult to locate, the DCSS utilizes various resources and tools to track them down, ensuring that child support obligations can be enforced.
4. Enforcing Child Support Orders: The DCSS employs various enforcement mechanisms to ensure that child support payments are made, such as income withholding, intercepting tax refunds, and suspending driver’s licenses or professional licenses.

The Role of District Attorneys’ Offices

In Georgia, District Attorneys’ Offices play a crucial role in child support enforcement. Each county has a District Attorney’s Office responsible for pursuing legal action against non-compliant parents. Key functions of District Attorneys’ Offices include:

1. Legal Actions: District Attorneys’ Offices initiate legal proceedings to enforce child support orders, including filing contempt actions against non-paying parents.
2. Court Representation: District Attorneys’ Offices represent the custodial parent and the state in court proceedings, advocating for the best interests of the child and seeking enforcement of child support obligations.
3. Criminal Prosecution: In cases of extreme non-compliance or deliberate evasion of child support payments, District Attorneys’ Offices may pursue criminal prosecution, which can result in fines, probation, or even imprisonment for the non-paying parent.

Private Child Support Enforcement Agencies

In addition to government agencies, there are private child support enforcement agencies in Georgia that provide services to custodial parents. These agencies can offer assistance in the following areas:

1. Locating Non-Custodial Parents: Private child support enforcement agencies have access to databases and specialized resources that can help locate non-custodial parents who are avoiding their child support obligations.
2. Investigative Services: These agencies may conduct investigations to uncover hidden assets or sources of income of non-paying parents, ensuring that accurate child support calculations are made.
3. Legal Support: Private child support enforcement agencies can provide legal guidance and support, including assistance with filing court actions and representing custodial parents in child support enforcement proceedings.

Why Seek Professional Assistance for Child Support Enforcement?

Enforcing child support orders can be a complex and challenging process. Seeking professional assistance from experienced child support enforcement agencies or lawyers offers several benefits, including:

1. Knowledge and Expertise: Child support enforcement professionals have in-depth knowledge of Georgia child support laws and regulations. They can navigate the legal system effectively, ensuring your child’s best interests are protected.
2. Resources and Tools: Child support enforcement agencies have access to specialized resources, databases, and tools that can aid in locating non-paying parents and uncovering hidden assets.
3. Legal Representation: Professional assistance provides you with legal representation, ensuring that your rights as a custodial parent are upheld and that appropriate legal action is taken against non-compliant parents.
4. Peace of Mind: Entrusting the enforcement process to professionals allows you to focus on your child’s well-being, knowing that experienced individuals are working diligently to secure the financial support your child deserves.

Enforcing child support orders is crucial for the financial security and well-being of your child. Understanding the role of Georgia child support enforcement agencies, such as the Division of Child Support Services and District Attorneys’ Offices, can help you navigate the enforcement process more effectively. Additionally, private child support enforcement agencies offer specialized services to aid in locating non-paying parents and ensuring the enforcement of child support obligations. Seeking professional assistance in child support enforcement provides you with the knowledge, resources, and legal representation necessary to protect your child’s financial interests.

Child Support Lawyer in Columbus, GA

All child support enforcement agencies have many functions with regard to child support, medical support, and paternity. Spousal support is also enforced in conjunction with child support. The Child support enforcement agencies can also be contacted for services like the location of missing parents, and assets, modification of existing child support orders, responding to as well as initiating interstate cases, and enforcement of state, and federal support laws and procedures.

Any parent can initiate a child support case. Thus a non-custodial parent also retains right to demand modifications of child support orders. In order for protection of rights as well as support provided, it would be in best interests for non custodial parents to have their accounts handled by CSE agencies. This ensures correct credit of payments made as well as discourages frequent child support modification requests.

The child support enforcement agencies do not usually handle visitation issues, custody issues, cases of harassment, child abduction, property disputes etc. Such issues have to be dealt with by parents and their child support attorneys. Crimes committed should be reported to the police.
Interstate Cases

In cases where parents live in different states there are major issues to be resolved. Such cases come under the regulation of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). The court orders would be binding on both custodial and non custodial parent and would follow them to their new state of residence. If the UIFSA application if filled and send, the receiving state is responsible for enforcing child support orders.

UIFSA becomes mandatory for convenience in cases where there are no set court orders and the non custodial parent is uncooperative as well as deceiving in matters of assets. If an UIFSA is filled in, the receiving state will locate the non custodial parent and the hidden assets, establish paternity of child, determine a child support amount based on state regulated calculations, issue notice and follow it up with enforcement.

There can be differences in accounting from one state to another and this can cause confusion. Hence it would be better for non custodial parents to keep clear and accurate records of their payments. These can come in use if at all there are discrepancies in accounting in the other state.

Child support enforcement can be extended to international cases too. The local CSE agency has to be contacted so that it can determine if the resident country of non custodial parent has reciprocity.

On emancipation of child, child support ceases. In most states the date of emancipation is when the child turns 18 years of age and has graduated from high school. Special clauses in the child support orders can allow child support to continue until child graduates from college. Thus be abreast with all clauses in your child support order.