If you struggle to stay current on the child support you owe, or if your child’s non-custodial parent has fallen behind on support, it is crucial to understand your options and what happens next. Many parents who have to work through child support issues also deal with custody and visitation matters.
Sometimes, parents have confusion with respect to their rights as well as their obligations, and it is crucial to clarify any uncertainty in this regard. After all, the penalties associated with back child support as well as denied visitation are very serious.
Child support does not affect visitation
The Attorney General of Texas reports that courts handle child support payments and a parent’s visitation rights separately. Therefore, the custodial parent must respect the non-custodial parent’s visitation rights and abide by the terms of the court order, even if the non-custodial parent does not pay the child support that they owe. In addition, parents should realize that the court can enforce a visitation order.
Addressing child support and visitation matters
Regardless of the unique challenges that you face, it is critical to go over your options closely. For example, modifying your child support order could reduce the amount you owe and help you stay current. Additionally, you should review your rights if your child’s other parent is not cooperating with respect to a visitation order.
Unfortunately, some parents do not understand that courts handle child support and visitation matters separately, and they wrongly believe that they can prevent a parent from seeing his or her child due to their failure to pay child support.