Contempt

Child support is a serious matter. It is one of the very few debts that you can be sent to jail for not paying.

You should do everything possible to avoid being ordered to pay more in child support than you can actually pay. Many people get behind in child support and never catch up. Unpaid child support accrues interest and if you are not paying enough, your debt can actually go up each month even if you are paying.

If you fail to pay child support after being ordered to do so the court can hold you in contempt. The principal penalty for contempt is being sent to jail. The order will specify a “purge amount” which is a dollar figure, usually less than the amount of the arrears that you can pay and be released.

This is because contempt is different from a sentence for a crime like arson. The purpose of the contempt penalty is to get you to comply with the court’s order and once you have complied sufficiently, that purpose has been served and there is no need to penalize you further.

If you find that you cannot pay the amount your order provides, for example, because your income has been reduced through no fault of your own or your expenses for other children that you support have increased you can ask the court to reduce the amount. However, your income has declined because you have voluntarily begun working fewer hours or just decided to take a few years off, you are unlikely to get your support requirement reduced.