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Court sentences man to jail in spite of paying late child support

Divorced parents have many issues to settle between them. Frequently, a court will determine the type of custody that would be the optimal arrangement for the children and which parent is in the best position to provide child support payments. As such, the noncustodial parent is expected to provide financial support on a regular basis. There may be many Georgia families that also struggle to ensure that all the needs of their children are being met.

One man who fell behind in his child support obligations was recently ordered to begin serving a 180-day jail sentence. He apparently was in arrears in excess of $3,000. However, he was reportedly able to become current on payments once again and even made additional payments above the amount due. Even though this father was no longer behind, a change in the statutes concerning late support payments stipulated that the jail sentence could not be avoided.

The man’s employer was supposedly the one who was ensuring that the wage deducted support was sent to the agency responsible for collection. However, the company he worked for purportedly did not submit the monies to the court for disbursement as specified. The man and his legal counsel have appealed the judge’s decision, but to no avail. Both have stated that they hope others will learn from this man’s story to ensure all payments are being received in a timely manner.

Along with having to serve a jail term for the back child support, the father has been accused of not adhering to the court-ordered visitation schedule, but it is not known if there will be any repercussions in response to this allegation. The father’s representative has stated that the judge could still decide to show leniency and allow the man to be released and return to his role as father and provider. Georgia parents who have had similar difficulties either meeting support obligations or obtaining support do have resources to help them to resolve in confronting and difficulties, for the good of their children and the family as a whole.

Source: click2houston.com, “Dad begins jail sentence in complicated child support case”, Mary Benton, June 24, 2014