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What to Do When Your Ex Won’t Pay Child Support
Many parents have an ex who does not pay child support. You are not alone in this battle. The following are a few tips to help you deal with your situation.
Power Play
One thing that may end up working for you is if you talk to your ex’s parents or siblings. You want to be honest and not confrontational about the situation. The idea here is to try to get an authority figure in your ex’s life to talk to him or her about the situation. There is no guarantee that this will work, but hopefully a candid conversation with a loved one will help your ex see the error of his or her ways.
Budget Honestly
It is important that you do not include the money that is owed to you in your budget. This parent is not paying his or her child support or does not pay it fully. Budgeting with uncertain money will create unnecessary problems that you are going to end up dealing with on your own. Additionally, you are going to end up getting upset with the parent, which is not good. Keep your expenses low at this time until you can figure out your next move.
Professional Help
Those who simply cannot get through to their ex may have to talk to a lawyer like Kelm & Reuter, P.A. or someone similar. You have to make sure that the lawyer specializes in these types of issues to ensure that the person you hire can provide effective help. You can warn your ex about the actions you are prepared to take as this is sometimes enough to get an ex to start paying. Be sure to keep your word about going to a lawyer if your ex does not comply because your word would be devalued otherwise.
Kids First
Many parents dealing with this particular issue end up restricting parental visitation rights because they are upset. You want to avoid doing this because it only ends up depriving your child or children of their mother or father. It may be tempting to do something like this, which is why this point is important to bring up. Try to work this out in any of the ways mentioned earlier that do not involve your child or children.
Hopefully, some of these suggestions are helpful to you right now. Remember, you’re a single parent at the moment, so take steps to make more cash to provide for your small family on your own. Yes, extra money may be helpful, but your ex does not seem to be changing, and you need to plan accordingly.
