Macon Georgia back child support collection lawyers
Enforcing child support payments in Bibb County GA
If a person willfully disobeys a lawful child support order, that person can be imprisoned for contempt of court. The civil contempt lawsuit is initiated by the custodial parent. After that, the nonpaying parent should be served with process because he or she has the Constitutional right to attend the hearing and submit a defense. If the nonpaying parent is served with process yet does not attend the court, the judge can order a bench warrant issued for his or her arrest.
When the judge finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the parent has willfully failed to pay pursuant to a valid child support order, the judge may order the nonpaying parent jailed. A parent who can establish that they did not have the capacity to pay will not be guilty of contempt of court, even though he or she will continue to owe the money.
Generally, the mere threat of prison sentence is enough to pry open the recalcitrant parents pocketbook. although, in severe cases, parents will be jailed and generally the jail term will be open-ended, terminating only when the proper payment is made.
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