Tips For Collecting Child Support If You Suspect Your Ex Is Working For Cash

23 May 2017
 Categories: Law, Articles


If you received custody of your children through your divorce, the court likely ordered your ex to pay child support to you. If your ex uses the excuse that they are not working and therefore cannot pay this money, yet you believe they are working for cash, there are steps you can take that may help you collect the child support they are supposed to pay. Here are some options to consider using to get the child support money you are supposed to be receiving.

File A Motion With The Court

One of the first things you may want to do is take your ex to court over this by filing a motion. When a court orders a person to pay child support, the order is not optional. In fact, the order will exist and stay in motion until the court makes a new order to overrule it. This can happen when a child reaches a certain age or when a parent's income changes, and it must take place with a request to the court to modify or suspend the support. If this has not occurred, your ex may be held in contempt of court for failing to follow a court order.

Find Evidence They Work For Cash

After filing a motion with the court for this purpose, you may want to do some work to prove that your ex is working for cash. This is not something that may be easy for you to find out and prove; however, there are options:

  1. Hire a private investigator to find out – Following someone and watching them is not always the best way to handle things, and it is much easier to hire this out. If you hire a private investigator, he or she will be able to find out if your ex is really working or not. The investigator will take pictures and record any other useful information about this, and you can present this in court or have the investigator testify in court on your behalf.
  2. Ask the court to review his bank statements – You may also be able to prove that your ex has income by requesting the court to view their bank statements. If your ex supposedly is not working, how are they surviving? A person's bank account will often reveal what is really happening. If you can view these and see that cash deposits are being made, the court will question them about the deposits.

When you go to your court hearing, it will be helpful to have this information and evidence with you so you can show the court.

The Court Will Make Them Pay

The other thing you should realize is that the court expects a non-custodial parent to pay support unless he or she has some type of medical or mental health reason why this is not possible. If you cannot prove your ex is working for cash, the court will determine whether they are capable of working. If they are capable of having a job, the court can still order them to pay.

In situations like this, the court can calculate the income your ex could be making by comparing their work experience and education to potential jobs. Even though your ex may not be working, they could be, and this is the way the court views this.

When the court hearing is complete, your ex will be ordered to pay child support to you, and your lawyer can help you discover other methods to collect the support if your ex continues to not pay the support he owes. If you need help with your case, contact a law firm like Kelm & Reuter, P.A. that specializes in child support cases. 


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