When parents divorce, or when parents who were never married part ways, the parent who has the child under their roof less frequently may be ordered to make regular child support payments to their coparent to help cover the costs the custodial parent incurs as a result of their residential responsibility for the child. Most parents expect to be financially responsible for their children’s upbringing. What parents who object to this responsibility may not realize is that child support can directly affect their credit scores and overall financial health if not managed properly. State agencies may turn to third-party collection agencies to recover missing child support payments, complicating the past-due parent’s financial situation even beyond the garnishment of income and the potential for contempt of court proceedings. To address your concerns about paying child support or recovering from missed payments and develop a strategy for protecting your financial health going forward, consider scheduling a consultation with an experienced South Carolina family law attorney at King Law Offices. Call 888-748-KING today to connect with a member of our team at a location near you.
Basic Facts About South Carolina Child Support
Criteria regarding the establishment, enforcement, and modification of child support orders in South Carolina are laid out in Chapter 17 of the state’s Children’s Code. This is the same chapter that also sets out provisions for establishing paternity – but, to be clear, mothers as well as fathers may be subject to child support obligations in South Carolina.
Relevance of Paternity Determinations
Determinations of paternity may have bearing on South Carolina child support cases in two main ways:
- Because S.C. 63-17-325 establishes that financial responsibility for a child begins with conception, biological fathers may be required to cover 50% of the costs associated with the biological mother’s pregnancy care, and a corresponding share of costs related to the child’s birth.
- The responsibility for financial support of a child usually falls first on that child’s biological parents, and for reasons related to the way children enter the world the identity of a child’s biological father is far more likely to be disputed than that of a child’s mother.
Proceedings to establish legal paternity may be more common in child support cases where the parents were never married, or in child support disputes that take place in “for cause” or fault-based divorces in which a child’s presumed father is alleging marital infidelity as the grounds for divorce.
Child Support Payments for Adopted Children
South Carolina Family Courts do typically assume that all biological parents have an obligation to support their natural children financially, and the Children’s Code outlines procedures for determining paternity when the genetic basis for this responsibility is in dispute. For obvious reasons, paternity testing is not typically an issue in child support cases involving adopted children; the legal parentage of these children is generally established by the adoption documents, and either parent may be ordered to make child support payments in the event of a divorce.
S.C. 63-17-730(11)(a) expressly provides that a contention that a child has been adopted by another party is a legal grounds for objection to child support obligations. If a person who has been ordered to pay child support (an obligor) raises this objection, and the objection is not resolved, then the Child Support Enforcement Division of the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) is required to schedule a further hearing to address the issue (usually through paternity testing as described in Chapter 17). A South Carolina family law attorney with King Law Offices may be able to help you determine what legal grounds for objection to child support payments may be available in your case.
What Happens if I Fall Behind on Child Support?
Generally speaking, most people will have some warning that they are behind in their child support obligations before drastic measures are taken to collect. The state’s system for notifying individuals of enforcement proceedings is designed to help tardy parents catch up on missed payments without undue hardship, while also ensuring that their children’s financial needs are met.
If you fall behind on child support payments that have previously been ordered by the judge in a South Carolina Family Court, then you may be ordered to appear in court pursuant to a Rule to Show Cause under SCRFC Rule 24. If your ex, or any custodian of your child, initiates a request for child support orders through DSS, then there are two main documents that may be used in processing your case.
Notice of Financial Responsibility
S.C. 63-17-730 directs the Director of the Child Support Enforcement Division under DSS to issue a notice of financial responsibility to an individual who has been identified as an obligor parent in a child support request being processed administratively (i.e., through DSS instead of as part of a case in the Family Courts). This notice will typically specify a place and time at which the recipient must attend a “negotiation conference” to determine their “duty of support.” At the conference, the DSS representative assigned to the case will apply the same South Carolina Child Support Guidelines used by judges in the South Carolina Family Courts.
Although the negotiation conference held as part of the administrative process for establishing child support is not a court hearing before a South Carolina judge, it serves a function similar to a hearing in assisting with the timely resolution of parental disputes regarding child support obligations, and the notice of financial responsibility is “served” upon the notified party in a manner not unlike that of a court summons. An obligor who wishes to object to the notice of financial responsibility can request a hearing prior to the negotiation conference, very much as they might do after receiving a summons to Family Court.
Order of Default
If you receive a notice of financial responsibility for child support payments, following the procedures set out in the document is critical to maintaining your financial health. Individuals who receive these notices have the right to request hearings to enter their objections, as well as the right to request a one-time rescheduling of the negotiation conference prior – but deadlines apply to the exercise of these rights. Failing to appear for the conference as scheduled, or as rescheduled, may result in an order of default, filed by DSS.
An order of default for South Carolina child support is typically filed with the county clerk’s office in the county where the obligor is a resident. For obligors who are living outside the state, these offices may have different names, but usually they will still be connected to the county court in the obligor’s county of residence. Living out of state is not a bar to collection of child support payments.
Consequences of Missed Child Support Payments
South Carolina takes the responsibility of each parent to provide for their children’s financial well-being extremely seriously. Child support payments in the state may be ordered either by the judge in a South Carolina Family Court (most typically during divorce proceedings) or by the Department of Social Services as the outcome of a request from the child’s custodial parent (or other guardian). In either case, failure to make timely child support payments in fulfillment of these obligations can carry heavy penalties that impact your financial health and future.
Administrative and Judicial Enforcement Actions
Enforcement actions, whether filed as a Rule to Show Cause by a clerk of court pursuant to a Family Court’s order or as an order of default filed by a local court by DSS, can have numerous adverse consequences on the financial health of the individual who is subject to the enforcement actions. Options for enforcement include:
- Contempt of court proceedings (these can result in jail sentences)
- Garnishment of wages (or other income, including workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits)
- Revocation of licenses (for driving, professional practice, etc.)
- Reporting to credit agencies
Many individuals who are subject to collection activity for their missed child support payments worry first about their credit ratings, as these indicators of solvency and responsibility can often have a substantial and long-lasting impact on a person’s financial health. However, it is important to look at the potential consequences of missed child support payments holistically, and take proactive steps to resolve any past due child support payments. The most common options in this regard include negotiating arrangements for “back payments” until caught up to the assigned schedule and seeking a modification of child support orders. The most appropriate options for resolving child support arrearage (past due payments) will depend on the circumstances of your case.
Learn More by Speaking With an Experienced Child Support Lawyer
If your credit rating and financial health are suffering as a result of child support enforcement actions, you likely have many questions and concerns. Whether the enforcement actions in your case are coming directly from a Family Court or through the administrative process overseen by DSS, the potential consequences of missed child support payments are similar, and serious. Finding a way to restore your credit and boost your financial health can be challenging, but a discussion with an attorney experienced in child support cases can often help. Schedule a consultation with a member of the King Law Offices team by calling 888-748-KING today.