In General:
Under Pennsylvania law, parents, whether they are married to each other ornot, are equally responsible for the support of their children. In Pennsylvania,this obligation is in effect until the children reach the age of 18 or when
they graduate from high school, whichever comes later.
See PA State Child Support Program
There are child support enforcement agency offices in everycounty in Pennsylvania.
One of the principal goals of the child support enforcementprogram is to ensure that all child support payments are received in full. Theprimary enforcement tools of the support collection unit are administrative, anddo not require the involvement of the court. Administrative remedies can be usedto collect all arrears/past due child support, regardless of whether they havebeen reduced to a judgment. Where administrative remedies do not proveeffective, however, the support collection unit can also petition the court forenforcement.
Administrative Enforcement - The following sources of income can beredirected to custodial spouse in the case of non-payment of child support:
- Income Execution-All orders of child support issued in Pennsylvania State are required to provide for immediate wage withholding. This requires the employer to deduct the child support obligation amount plus an additional amount to reduce arrears (if any) and forward the money directly to the support collection unit.
- Income Tax Refund Offset-any State or federal income tax refund due to the payer can be intercepted and applied to the repayment of the past due support/arrears.
- Lottery Prize Offset-The support collection unit can intercept Lottery prizes in excess of $600 and apply it to the repayment of the past due support/arrears.
- Driving Privilege Suspension-The support collection unit can direct the Pennsylvania State Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend that payer's driving privileges.
- Property Execution-Seize the liquid assets (e.g., bank accounts) of child support payers who owe past due support/arrears, and apply the proceeds to the repayment of past due support/arrears.
- Liens-Place liens against real or personal property of child support payers who owe past due support/arrears. A lien will prevent the sale or transfer of the property until the past due support/arrears are repaid.
- Referral to the Tax Department-Pennsylvania State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) is authorized to employ all methods available for the collection of past due taxes to the collection of past due child support. This method is particularly useful against self-employed persons who own businesses.
- Credit Bureau Reporting-Arrears are presented as a bad debt to all major consumer credit reporting agencies. This action is likely to negatively effect the ability of the child support payer to obtain credit.
Court Enforcement - There are numerous avenues that the court may follow toprosecute non-payment of child support:
- suspend the payer's business, professional or occupational licenses,
- suspend the payer's recreational licenses, and/or
- require the payer to post an undertaking (an amount of money paid in advance against which future child support payments can be drawn).
If a hearing find that a child support payer has willfullyviolated an order of support (was financially able to meet the obligation, butintentionally failed to do so), the court must order the payer to pay thecounsel fees of the other party. Further legal action may include to commit thepayer for jail up to six months or place the payer on probation.
Enforcing Child Support
Parent Locator Service - Obtain Wage Assignment - A Writ of Execution
Civil Contempt - Driver's License Suspension - Criminal Contempt
Tools You Can Use to Collect Child Support
- Families receiving public assistance - In Pennsylvania, each county has established a child support enforcement agency that can assist you in collecting child support from your spouse. This agency has responsibility for collecting child support for families receiving cash assistance. However, you may also apply for help even if you are not receiving cash assistance. If you do receive cash assistance in Pennsylvania, you must assign child support rights to the state. You must also help to locate the parent who is absent from the home.
If you do not cooperate, you may be denied public assistance benefits.
- Families not receiving public assistance - Services are available to non-public assistance parents by the payment of a non-refundable $25 fee. If you are representing yourself, and you are not on cash assistance, applying to the child support agency in your county for help is an excellent method of obtaining legal representation at minimal cost.
A child support order is as enforceable as anyother court judgment or decree. A parent who is owed child support can use eachand every legal tool available to enforce the order, including wagegarnishments, wage assignments, contemptof court decrees and the seizure of the non-payor's property by writof execution.
Use theGovernment's Parent Locator Service
Nonpaying parents may hidefrom the custodial parent in order to avoid their child support obligation. Theymay even go so far as to move out of state to avoid their responsibilities.In order to fix this problem, the federalgovernment has created the Parent Locator Service (The law also requiresthe states to establish a Parent Locator Services). The law allows you touse the resources of the federal government (including the Social SecurityAdministration and the Internal Revenue Service) to locate a nonpaying parent'semployer. Once found, the custodial parent or the state can enforce the childsupport order and collect unpaid support recovering support from tax refunds.The law also permits the IRS to pay past due childsupport from tax refunds that the nonpaying parent isdue from the government.
For more information on the Parent LocatorService, contact the local office of the Departmentof Health and Human Services.
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A child support order can be enforced justlike other court judgments. The court can seize assets of the nonpayingparent such as real property, bank accounts, stock, a paid-off car or otherproperty. If you want to try this method of enforcingchild support, it is a good idea tofind an experienced attorney.
If you choose to go forward on your own, youshould be aware that the Pennsylvania Court Rulesprovide a wide variety of means to execute on judgments.
- A judgment creditor (you) can use legal methods to find out whether a debtor (the non-paying parent) has assets and where the assets are located, if you have a money judgment.
- One rule provides for the issuance of a writ of execution which is used to obtain real and personal property of the debtor or to exclude the debtor from having access to or use of personal property or to remove it from the premises.
- Also the sheriff will use to post notice of the writ of execution on real property and to remove, label, or post notice of the attachment of personal property.
If you are not successful obtaining the propertyusing the methods described above, you have other choices. For example, you cangarnish the property of the judgment debtor. Generally a writ of garnishment isused when a third party is holding property of the judgment debtor(no-paying parent). The rule states when the writ may be filed and whatinformation shall be included in the writ.
In addition to the methods of securing a wage lienoffered in the Pennsylvania , the legislature has passed laws to assistrecipients of support to collect the funds due them from parents ordered to paychild support.- You may bring a civil contempt action
- You may seek a criminal prosecution
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Bring a CivilContempt of Court Action.
If a person willfully disobeys a lawful childsupport order, s/he can be jailed for contempt ofcourt. The civil contempt action is brought by the custodial parent. The courtclerk will have the proper forms. After that, the nonpaying parent will have tobe notified (served with process)since he or she has the Constitutional right to appear at the hearing andpresent a defense. If the nonpaying parent is served and does not appear, thetrial court will order a bench warrant issued for his or her arrest.If the court (finds beyond a reasonable doubt)that the parent has willfully failed to pay valid child support order, the courtcan order the nonpaying parent jailed. (A parent showing that they did not havethe ability to pay will not be found in contempt of court, however s/he willcontinue to owe the money.)
Often, the mere threat of jail issufficient to pry open the non-paying parent's pocketbook. However, in severecases, parents will be jailed. Sometimes the jail sentence will end only whenthe proper payment has been made.
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