Enforcement of Child Support
in Colorado
Individuals that have been awarded child support often have
concerns over whether the other party will consistently make
child support payments and what they can do if those
payments stop.
Child support is an order of the Court. When a Court order
is not followed, the Court has broad powers to enforce that
order. Given the circumstances of your case there are a
number of options to assure that child support is paid in
accordance with the Court order.
In some cases, a wage assignment can be made at the
time your divorce or allocation of parental responsibilities
becomes final. If a wage assignment is part of the Court’s
Support Order, a Notice to Withhold Income for Support is
sent to the employer of the party owing child support and
the funds will come directly out of their paycheck to the
party receiving child support.
Another option at the time of divorce is to participate in
the Family Support Registry. This can be done through
agreement of the parties or through an order of the Court.
The purpose of the Family Support Registry is to monitor
child support payments. The party paying child support sends
their payments to the Family Support Registry. The Registry
then records the payment and sends the child support payment
amount to the party receiving child support. If there is a
problem with payment down the line, the Family Support
Registry will report out on the payment history. This record
will be taken as evidence by the court and presumed to be
accurate.
Options for
Colorado Enforcement of Child Support
If child support payments are not paid in accordance with
the Court order then there are a number of options. Which
option is best for you depends on the circumstances of your
case:
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Child
Support Enforcement: You have the option to use
Child Support Enforcement in the county where your
Support Order was entered to recover child support.
Child Support Enforcement has a number of tools at their
disposal to recover child support funds from the
delinquent party. If you use Child Support Enforcement
you will NOT be able to receive interest payments on
delinquent funds.
-
Support
Judgment: You may file a Verified Entry of Support
with the Court to show that the party paying child
support has not complied with the Support Order. The
Court will then file a Support Judgment that gives you
the power to garnish the opposing party’s wages and/or
bank accounts. The Support Order can also include
interest on the delinquent funds owed as well as
attorney’s fees for having to enforce the Order.
-
Contempt
of Court: Another option is to bring a Motion for
Contempt. The Court will set up a Contempt Hearing where
it is expected that both parties will be present. At the
Hearing, the Court will take evidence on payment or
non-payment of child support. The Court can also ask
questions to discover what financial resources are
available for payments. The Court also has the power to
garnish accounts or wages and may impose punitive
damages including jail time for non-payment of child
support. The Court can award interest on delinquent
payments as well as attorney’s fees. Attorney’s fees are
only awarded if no punitive sanctions are imposed. A
Contempt Hearing is a quasi-criminal proceeding.
If you would like to ask one of
our attorneys a question about enforcement of Colorado child
support or skip that step and
come in for a consultation, we encourage you to do
so sooner rather than later. The longer you wait to speak
to a Colorado family law attorney the higher your chances
are of inadvertently giving up your legal rights.
What makes Matthews & Matthews a better choice to help you
with your Colorado Child Support Enforcement Action?
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