Introduction
The legal guardianship of a child after the separation of parents is known as child custody and support. The person getting custody of the child has the right to make decisions for him and take care of routine matters. Considering modern issues, rather than providing complete custody of the child, one of the parents is allowed to have contact or reside with the child. Here the procedure of child custody in the dissolution of parents’ relationship will be discussed. The point of the court as well as the enforcement of unpaid child support orders is described in detail.
Discussion
Determining child custody
The care of a child needs to be continued no matter whether the parents are still in a relationship or not. Child custody helps parents to agree upon a plan for raising their children. The decisions about timing to be spent with each parent as well as who will be the principal caregiver are taken. The court takes into view the best interest of the child.
In child custody, parenting time is a legal term, which refers to the time period spent with the parent who has no legal custody. The conflict occurs in the parenting and custody time, which is to be resolved by the court. The decision-making process followed by the court is different depending on the nature of the case. The parents are referred to the mediation services of the internal court. Both parents agree on an argument and the issue is resolved right away. If parents fail to agree on the terms, then the decision is left to the court. Trials are conducted in this scenario and the decision is made according to the condition. This is a complicated process, the person most affected here is the child so some psychological measures are taken to maintain mental health (Otto, Edens, Barcus, 2005).
The decision on child support obligations and the amount
The guidelines for developing the child support obligations and amount vary according to the state a person is living in. The factor playing a vital role in this respect is the expenses and income of parents. The things that must be considered by the court in determining child support are the needs of the child such as education, insurance, medical, daycare, and other special needs. The ability of the paying parent for making payments is also considered along with the standard of living followed by the child before and after separation.
The payment of child support obligation depends on the demographics and commitment of a parent to a child (Seltzer, Schaeffer, Charng, 1989). Therefore, in order to make the final decision, court requires a document from each parent comprising the financial situation. The goal of this support program is to maintain the same living standard for the child as it was before the divorce. However, the court is aware of the fact that maintaining the expenses of two households is difficult so decisions are made according to the situation.
Ways to enforce child support if not paid
The compliance with child support is less when the obligation rate is high. If the obligations are reduced, this can increase the compliance rate, especially for fathers with low income (Huang, Mincy, Garfinkel, 2005). The parent having custody can report to the attorney if the other parent is not paying child support. Commonly followed enforcement tools include wage deductions, passport restriction, income tax interception, and contempt of court.
The attorney can assign the income withholding order and this will help indirectly take out the support amount from the wages of the supporting parent. The professional or driving license can also be revoked until he makes obligatory payments. These laws also vary according to state so it is best to seek advice from an attorney.
References
Huang, C., Mincy, R., & Garfinkel, I. (2005). Child Support Obligations and Low-Income Fathers. Journal Of Marriage And Family, 67(5), 1213-1225. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00211.x
Otto, R., Edens, J., & Barcus, E. (2005). THE USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS. Family Court Review, 38(3), 312-340. doi:10.1111/j.174-1617.2000.tb00578.x
Seltzer, J. A., Schaeffer, N. C., & Charng, H.-w. (1989). Family ties after divorce: The relationship between visiting and paying child support. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51(4), 1013-1031.
