Child Support | Parental rights & visitation in the court system |
Child Support, Parental Rights, And Visitation
Child support, parental rights, and visitation are two separate issues and more time than not addressed separately in the court system. On occasion, the custodial parent refuses to allow the noncustodial parent visitation. However, the custodial parent may refuse the noncustodial parent visitation if the custodial parent fears harm may come to the child, and or if the child refuses to visit the noncustodial parent resulting in a very frustrating situation.
Encourage visitation |
In many cases, the noncustodial parent is ordered to pay more than 50% of what the courts deem necessary to support the child so you can imagine how the noncustodial parent must feel when visitation is denied. I challenge all custodial parents to encourage visitations and try to develop a healthy working relationship with the noncustodial parents, and noncustodial parents do you part. Do child support laws need to be reformed?
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Child support payments can be ridiculously high and place the noncustodial parent in a position in which paying for legal representation in assistance with the matter becomes an additional burden; however, the primary custodial parent is appointed legal advice and assistance by the state.
The income shares model utilizes both parents' gross income in the calculation ignoring any other deductions; with the exception of preexisting child support obligations.
A word of caution seeking a higher paying job or a second job to compensate for child support payments could cause an increase in child support payments. When calculating child support payments all income is taken into account. Child support laws are designed to take into account the child's best interest.
It is important to remember that child support laws vary from state to state and in some cases, the judge may deviate for scheduled making child support obligations lower or higher depending on the circumstances of the case.
Child Support Laws are designed to take into account the child's best interest |
Historically as a result of the process of socialization and gender role identification women have assumed the responsibility of homemakers and child-rearing, and men have taken the position of breadwinner allocating the majority of their time to working in the job market in order to provide financial support to the family.
This trend has also lead to, yet another social trend the majority of the noncustodial parent is male and it is not uncommon for the primary custodial parent to be a woman, however,
Both genders occupy the roles of custodial parents and noncustodial parents. According to the statistical data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau ,
" • An estimated 13.4 million parents lived with 22.1 million children under 21 years of age while the other parent(s) lived somewhere else.
• One of every six custodial parents (17.5 percent) were fathers.
• More than one-quarter (26.6 percent) of all children under 21 years of age living in families with only one of their parents while the other parent lived elsewhere. About half (48.1 percent) of all Black children lived in custodial-parent families.
• Most custodial parents had one child (54.7 percent).
• The proportion of custodial mothers with income below poverty (31.2 percent) was higher than that of custodial fathers (17.4 percent).
• Child support income accounted for over two-thirds (70.3 percent) of the mean annual personal income for custodial parents below poverty who received full child support.
• About half (48.7 percent) of all custodial parents had either legal or informal child support agreements, and custodial mothers were more likely to have agreements (52.3 percent) than custodial fathers (31.4 percent).
• About three-quarters (74.1 percent) of custodial parents who were due child support in 2013 received either full or partial payments and less than half (45.6 percent) received full payments.
• The aggregate amount of child support due in 2013 was $32.9 billion, a decrease of $14.0 billion from a decade earlier, when adjusted to 2013 dollars.
• About 68.5 percent of the $32.9 billion in child support due in 2013 was reported as received, averaging $3,950 per year per custodial parent who was due support."
1) Child support payments received by the custodial parent is nontaxable, yet the noncustodial parent receives no tax credits for payments made.
2) The consequences of not paying child support are severe and can range from, but not limited to the following:
- wage garnishment,
- denial of a passport,
- driver license suspension,
- and up to two years of imprisonment.
Questions To consider when dealing with child support issues:
- How can you pay child support while in prison, and who pays to house and feed prisoners?
- Does it cause taxpayers more money feeding and housing individuals who are in prison due to child support?
- Does suspending a person's license prevent him, or her from finding and maintaining a job?
- Does the number of nonpayments of child support reflect a lack of the desire to pay or a lack of ability to pay due to high scheduled payments?
3) Child support can be reviewed for modification at any time; one need only petition the courts for a modification.
4) Unemployment payment can be garnished
5) liens can be placed on the property
6) Did you know that congress enacted a" Dead Beat Parent Punishment Act of 1998."
Inveigle Magazine
4) Unemployment payment can be garnished
5) liens can be placed on the property
6) Did you know that congress enacted a" Dead Beat Parent Punishment Act of 1998."
Author: Gregory M. Green is the author of various topics in the Social Sciences section of Inveigle Magazine. He writes on informative topics that bring awareness to the world. We are so pleased to have him as a part of Inveigle Magazine's Team. Follow us @Inveiglemagazi1 View more articles by Gregory M. Green
Inveigle Magazine