Hi Rick,
I am not a lawyer just a parent that has been through alot of these things myself. Janet will reply with the legal answers you seek. Until then I can tell you that Yes, if they were served they need to appear wether the support is caught up or not. However, it would be better if the support was up to date and the NCP could show proof that it is indeed up to date on the court date. A good reason for being late would also benefit the NCP. As far as arrears go, the judge can set them as payable any way that he or she sees fit. However, if there is an existing order that arrears are being paid, and unless there are serious delinquencies it shouldn’t change. Yes, taxes can be taken to pay any arrears owed.
Mejia is right, you need to appear even if you are paid up. Actually, purging yourself of contempt (which means complying with the court order by paying up what you owe by the court date) will help you in the future. Once an arrearage is set, the court does not expect you to pay it in a lump sum (usually), but sets a monthly amount for the arrearage which is in addition to your child support.
Yes, arrearages in child support are usually deducted from income tax refunds of the paying parent. This helps ensure that the arrearage is paid down.
Remember that if you have not paid when you go to court, you may be eligible for a court appointed attorney. Best of luck…and please pay your child support first and everything else second so that you don’t find yourself in this predicament again!
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 RosenDivorce.com
919-787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
If a parent paying court ordered child support, gets behind in payments and gets a show cause order with a court date, does that parent have to go to court on that date? Can the parent just pay up what is behind and stay out of court? What if the parent has arreages, that the parent is paying a small amount on toward the balance, each month, can the parent be made pay all of the arreages if the parent goes to court? Also, can the arreages be taken from the parents income tax refunds, next year?
Thank you for your time to answer all my questions.