What happens to unpaid child support arrears?

If a parent in California falls behind on their child support payments, it can lead to severe consequences. This is known as having unpaid “child support arrears.” If a parent fails to pay child support arrears, the local child support agency in California can take legal action to collect the money. In order to collect unpaid child support arrears, the agency can: • Withhold money from the parent’s wages. This includes money from unemployment benefits, Social Security benefits, and worker’s compensation benefits. • Intercept Federal Tax Refunds. If the parent is expecting to get a federal tax refund, the agency can take that money and apply it to the unpaid arrears. • File a court order to have the parent’s assets seized. This could include bank accounts, real estate, and cars. • Place a lien on the parent’s property. This means that if the parent attempts to sell the property, the proceeds would go to the unpaid child support arrears instead of the parent. • Have a license or permit suspended that the parent needs to get or maintain employment. • Report the parent’s debt to credit bureaus. • Require the parent to appear in court and explain why child support arrears have not been paid. The penalties for unpaid child support arrears are serious and can have long-term consequences. To ensure these penalties do not happen, parents should try and make consistent payments and contact the local child support agency if they have trouble making the payments.

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What happens to unpaid child support arrears?

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