If a father quits his job does he not have to pay child support during the time he is out of work?

junebugbaby83: If a father quits his job does he not have to pay child support during the time he is out of work?
My sons father quit his job, a pretty good job I might add, because he and his fiance broke up. -She worked in the same place.

Anyway now he is planning on being a truck driver and is going to be out of work for a few months and making god knows what afterward.

Will he have to make up the money that he isn’t paying or is it just gone?

I am concerned because it has put me in a financial bind.
I am in Texas.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Shelby L
it would take a lot for a judge to make a decision to lower the amount because he is out of work they would never allow him to stop paying and if he doesn’t pay he will have to make up for it.

Answer by keyadeen
it really depends on what state you live in. I live in Tennessee and job or no job they are responsible. If they don’t pay in Tennessee they go to jail.

Answer by vis
when he starts to work it will resume.. as for the back child support they more than likely will take his income tax ..

Answer by bleuwra
If he is making a lot less he can take it to court and receive a judgement for a lower support amount. The court determines the support amount based on ability to pay.

Answer by trooper3316
If you change employment, you are still obligated to whatever arrangements were made with the court. Whatever he was ordered to pay will stay in effect.

The courts always look at what is in the best interest of the child, so his reason for quitting will not give him any consideration with the court.

He is likely going to wind up with quite a bit of money owed.

I would suggest you talk to someone in the child support office before he gets too far behind. If he misses as much as one payment, they may suggest you take him back to court for contempt.

Answer by Daisy
I believe they will take his tax refund and send it to you, but that doesn’t help for now. Please talk to the local child support office about this.

Answer by W W D
I’ve had to pay more in child support than I made, and when one employer ran off with the funds, I had to pay despite not having the income. One has to petition the court for relief when circumstances change in order to modify a child-support decree.

Answer by Keith W
I don’t know the laws of your state concerning child support but most states, if the state is involved in the support collection, require the support to be paid, including all back support that he owes, some states even refuse to renew drivers liscenses and they will go after income tax returns and even jail time in the most extreme cases. If you haven’t gotten your state DSHS office involved in your child support problem you should do so immediately. I pay child support and have fallen behind at times of no work but have made sure that all monies owed were paid to my exwife and have worked with the state to make sure that they know where I am and who I work for. Don’t let him slide from his obligation

Answer by raichasays
He has to keep paying the amount that was ordered by the court until he asks the judge to give him a different order.

He will have to make up the back payments.

Contact the child support services department in your state for assistance.

Answer by ironjag
Leaving work or even being fired does not legally suspend or terminate support. He will simply go into arrears and owe it in back support.

Courts don’t take kindly to those obligated to pay support who leave work, especially if they do it solely to get out of support. The courts will look into that.

At best, he can return to court and petition for a downward modification of the support order, but there are a lot of rules surrounding doing that that do not necessarily favor him.

Tighten up the belt, but maintain communication and be prepared to go back to court if you need to to enforce the support order through garnishment if necessary.

Whatever you do, don’t deny him visitation. That’s a horrible trend and doesn’t resolve the support issue. IT’s also not good for the child/children in the long run. Allow the visitation as that was probably ordered by the court and the court’s will not be happy if you used it to punish him for non-payment.

Answer by outta here
Being unemployed does not relieve a father of child support. The child still has to eat, have a home, clothes and other things.

If he were living with the child, he would be providing these things.

The courts will not look kindly upon him for quitting his job. The court will expect him to continue making regular child support payments.

If he doesn’t, take him to court….the judge will fix his butt.

Answer by missbeans
Regardless of his financial situation, he is required to pay what the court has ordered. He’ll still have to pay what he hasn’t paid, but it may take awhile. You may have to go to court to get the court to up his payments to pay his back support.

One answerer said he can go to court to have his payments lowered if he is making a lot less money than he was before…and that is true. BUT if he is making a lot MORE money, then you can ask for a judgement to reflect that too.