Not Paying Child Support – Well I Am Keeping the Kids in Florida!
The payment of child support in Florida and the right to visitation of your children are not reciprocal rights, just because a spouse fails to pay court-ordered child support does not mean the spouse with primary custodial rights can simply withhold visitation as a punishment for the other spouse’s failure to pay child support. In Florida, parents must comply with court ordered visitations.
Picture this – you are a divorced woman, you have a son who is 10 years old, you collect child support and alimony from your former husband whom you share visitation rights with. One day, your spouse decides to stop paying child support. What do you do? I know your first instinct may be to withhold visitation rights until he pays up, right? WRONG! Although this may seem perfectly logical and may actually induce payment in some situations, in Florida, this is strictly prohibited. Don’t fall into the trap, or the court may order the custodial parent to pay reasonable court costs and attorney's fees incurred by the noncustodial parent to enforce their visitation rights or make up improperly denied visitation.
Other sanctions the court may impose on a custodial parent for failing to abide by a court-ordered visitation schedule includes: 1) You may be ordered to attend parenting classes; 2) You may be required to conduct community service; 3) You may be ordered to pay the travel costs of the non-custodial parent if they reside further than 60 miles away; 4) The court may alter the custody arrangement changing rotating custody, the primary residence of the child, and even alter primary custody of the child upon a petition by the noncustodial parent, only if such a ruling is in the best interests of the child; or 5) You may be ordered by the court to undertake some other type of sanction left to the discretion of the judge.
The lesson to be learned is, don’t upset the apple cart! In Florida, by withholding visitation from a non-custodial parent, even if that parent has failed to pay child support, you are exposing yourself to a number of potential sanctions that will cost you more money, may result in spending more of your time, and may also result in a reduction in your own child visitation rights.
I know what your thinking – HOW UNFAIR! And you may be right, but there are numerous remedies in Florida for deadbeat parents. We will discuss such remedies in our next entry. Stay tuned!
For more advice on the appropriate steps to take consult with an attorney.
