Tips for Paying Child Support in Mississippi

The following tips have been learned over many years of practicing family law and seeing the issues that arise in Mississippi courts when the custodial parent (the Payee) is claiming that the noncustodial parent (the Payor) is not paying their child support.  Follow these tips and you (the Payor) will close the door on most, if not all, allegations that the custodial parent may make about you not paying your child support.

1. Always pay on time or early. This is the single most important thing you can do.

2. Always pay with either a check or money order. If paying with a money order, keep the receipt from the money order. The is the second most important thing you can do in the event there later becomes a dispute about your payment of child support.

3. If sending your child support payment through the mail, keep a copy of any correspondence you send with the child support.

4. Never send the child support check through the children. This is adult business, and you should never put the children in the middle of any child support obligation or dispute. Additionally, you should never discuss your child support with the children.

5. Your seeing the children is not a condition to paying your child support. Always pay your child support, even if your former spouse is creating obstacles with your visitation. Not paying your child support always looks bad in front of the Judge, regardless of the situation, and the Courts never find the excuse of not being able to visit with your children as acceptable to your not paying your child support. Stay on the high road.

6. Do not reduce your child support payments unilaterally for any reason. Before you reduce any child support payments (even if the former spouse agrees) a court order allowing such reduction must be in place. Don’t fall for this dirty little trick!  (See my previous blog about why its important to get a court order approving any modification.)

7. If you have a reduction in income, immediately consult an attorney to see if you are entitled to a reduction in child support.

8. If you prefer, you may have your child support deducted from your pay via a withholding order. For some, this is preferable to having to write a check each month to your former spouse, with the additional benefit that it is not available to you to spend somewhere else because you never get it in the first place. However, once the withholding order is in place you cannot unilaterally decide later that you no longer wish your child support to be withheld from your paycheck. Additionally, employers are entitled to charge a small fee from the remainder of your check for their trouble associated with withholding your child support from your check.

To learn more, please visit our website at http://www.showspowell.com/.