In the not so distant past, parents who owed child support who fell behind on their payments sometimes found themselves on a public list. At one point, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) actually maintained a “Most Wanted List” including names addresses and amounts for any parent that owed more than 5K in child support arrears.
The fact is, Illinois has a number of coercive collection tools the state can utilize to bring parents owing past due child support into compliance. Driver’s license suspension and passport denial, professional/occupational license suspension, hunting and fishing license denial, vehicle impoundment, tax refund interception, liens on property, and wage garnishment are all on the table to collect past due support. Depending on the amount owed and the length of delinquency, even criminal charges are possible resulting in incarceration and fines.
Modification of Child Support
It is not uncommon for parents who owe child support to fall on hard times, which may include a job loss, serious medical issue, or an unforeseen emergency expense. This can result in a lapse of payments that can easily snowball into ever increasing child support debt. When your financial circumstances have substantially changed since the court order for child support, it is important to work with an experienced child support lawyer to determine if a modification of child support is possible. Only after a modification is approved will the amount of child support owed be adjusted – it is important to act promptly to determine if a reduction is possible to avoid accumulating additional delinquent Illinois child support.
When you have questions regarding modification to a child support order, contact Illinois child support attorney Ronald L Bell & Associates for assistance at 847-495-6000.