Asking for child support is often tedious and challenging, especially when the other parent is unwilling to be cooperative. However, the government provides ways in which you can still receive it even when the other person claims that they have no funds.
Tax refunds are some of the many viable avenues to receive child support from uncooperative parents. It is essential to have a child custody lawyer that can help you understand and navigate the process. The attorney has experience and expertise in dealing with such issues.
How It Works
Every state has child support agencies that collect checks from parents providing child support. Some parents do not use this method and instead receive the checks themselves or have other arrangements as to how they get child support.
For the state to deduct money from the said parent’s tax refund, the child support must be going through your state’s child support agency. Unless the country is aware that your co-parent has failed to pay their help, the case will not be reported to the Department of Treasury. You will then need to get a child custody lawyer to go to court and request that the child support be remitted through the state agency henceforth.
If you have your child’s custody and have dwindling or inconsistent payment of child support, it is essential to let the state pick checks for you through this program. People who are already under the child support agency programs will automatically be filed with the treasury department when they fail to submit their checks.
The state agencies virtually submit the names and details of defaulters to the Office of Child Support Enforcement. The OCSE is the national child support agency that coordinates all state agencies dealing with child support. In the case where the OCSE receives such details of defaulters, it submits a request to the Department of Treasury for the said persons to have their tax refunds paid as child support. This program is referred to as the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program.
The program works in two ways. The custodial parent or guardian is under the federal welfare program. The other parent has not paid any child support or is not under the welfare program and owes at least five hundred dollars. Where the noncustodial parent has met any of the above two conditions, they receive a notice called a pre-offset notice that has information about the program and how much they owe. They also get information on how to make queries or refute the arrears child support amount. The state may not necessarily issue any new updates on the amount.
The Department of Treasury decides on whether to offset the entire tax refund or some of it depending on the amount owed by the other parent and funnels it through the agency chain until it reaches the custodial parent. The noncustodial parent who fails to pay child support is informed through a notice which explains how the Department of Treasury offset any of their tax refunds.
Is It Advisable to Collect Child Support Through Tax Refunds?
Tax refunds are an excellent way of collecting child support if the noncustodial parent is entirely non-compliant. However, it is not a sustainable system as it depends on the off chance that they have an ample tax refund that can cover the failed child support payments.
OCSE has other ways such as deduction of money from their paychecks and credit bureau reports, which are more efficient. Having a child custody lawyer will help you look at a variety of options that are more sustainable before approaching the state child support agency.
Interesting related article: “All about tax.”