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Man’s failure to pay child support leads to 6-month jail sentence

On Behalf of | Apr 4, 2014 | Child Support |

Last week, we wrote about a man who hid some assets from his wife during the divorce process and went to jail for it. While the act of hiding assets is less common than you would think, the act of failing to pay child support is well documented. Take the recent story of a 62-year-old man who was sent to jail because he failed to pay $90,000 in child support since 1999. He will be in a federal prison for six months as a result of his failure to pay.

The man also owes $73,000 in restitution, which seemingly wasn’t paid either. All told, the man owes more than $160,000 in child support and related fees.

There are a few aspects to this story that are important. First, notice the man’s age. As people get older, it can become more difficult for them to pay child support. Retirement sets in and their income may not be able to support the kind of payments they were previously making.

Second, consider how long this man’s inability to pay dragged on. $90,000 over 15 years is a long time. During that time, he could have contacted his divorce attorney and tried to modify his child support agreement so that he could actually pay off his obligations.

Third and finally, consider the lengthy punishment the man was handed. Failing to pay child support is a very serious issue and though the system isn’t perfect, those who are caught failing to pay are in line for some serious consequences.

Source: WIVB, “Man going to jail over failure to pay child support,” April 2, 2014

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