Georgia Child Support Enforcement

If you're having trouble collecting the money you're owed under your child support order in Georgia, help is available from the state and its courts. The state also provides assistance to parents who are having trouble paying support. But if they don't follow through, delinquent parents in Georgia could face serious consequences. Here's how child support enforcement works in Georgia.

Income Withholding for Child Support

The easiest and most effective way to pay and collect child support is to have the money automatically taken out of the paychecks of the parent who owes support (usually the parent who doesn't have physical custody of the child most of the time) and forwarded to the custodial parent. In Georgia, judges must issue income withholding orders with all child support orders unless there's a good reason not to, or the parents have agreed to another payment arrangement.

In most cases, the income withholding order will be effective immediately. If there's a good reason, however, the judge may instead order that income withholding will take effect only when the noncustodial parent owes a month's worth of overdue support. (Ga. Code § 19-6-32 (2024).)

Getting Help From Georgia's Child Support Enforcement Agency

If you aren't receiving your child support payments on time (or at all), Georgia's Division of Child Support Services (CSS) can help. Unless you're receiving public assistance for your child, you'll need to apply for services and pay a small fee ($35).

What Can Happen to Georgia Parents Who Don't Pay Child Support?

Like similar agencies in all states, Georgia's CSS has several methods of enforcing child support orders. Depending on how much a parent owes in overdue support ("arrears"), these enforcement tools include:

• withholding income for the arrears (as well as the current support payments) from the delinquent parent's paychecks or other regular income such as unemployment, workers' compensation, and retirement benefits
• intercepting income tax refunds
• seizing the money from the delinquent parent's bank accounts
• filing liens on other property (such as a car or house), so that the parent can't sell or borrow money on the property without paying the child support debt
• reporting the debt to consumer credit agencies, which can hurt the parent's credit rating, and
• having the delinquent parent's driver's license, professional or occupational license, recreational licenses, or passport suspended or revoked.

If none of these enforcement tools work, CSS may file a court action to have the delinquent parent found in contempt of court, which could lead to fines or even jail time (more on that below). (Ga. Admin. Code §§ 290-7-1 and following (2024).)

Help for Noncustodial Parents Having Trouble Paying Child Support

If you owe child support but are having trouble paying, you should contact Georgia's CSS as soon as possible. Through its "Fatherhood" program (which could also serve mothers who've been ordered to pay child support), the agency may be able to help you get a modification of child support, if you qualify. The program offers other services to noncustodial parents who are struggling to pay court-ordered support, including job training, employment searches, and help getting driver's licenses reinstated.

Participation in the Fatherhood program is voluntary, but parents who do enroll must meet the requirements, including paying child support and looking for work. If a parent participates in the program but doesn't complete it, CSS will resume taking actions to enforce the child support order (as discussed above).

Enforcing Child Support in Georgia's Courts

If Georgia's CSS doesn't start a contempt action (or if the agency's enforcement actions are simply taking too long), you always have the option of going directly to court. You may file a motion requesting a judge to find your co-parent in contempt of court for intentionally failing to obey the child support order. You'll need to arrange to have the paperwork served on the other parent (by mail, if the other parent will sign and return an acknowledgment, or by having a local sheriff deliver it).

Delinquent parents have the right to appear at the hearing on a contempt motion and try to convince the judge that there was a good reason they couldn't pay the child support.

Usually, when parents are found in contempt for failing to pay child support, the judge will first allow them to "purge" the contempt by paying the arrears. Failing to do that could lead to fines or even jail time (Ga. Code §§ 15-1-4, 19-6-28 (2024).)

When Can Deadbeat Parents Face Criminal Charges?

In some extreme cases, parents who "willfully" refuse to pay child support may be charged with a federal crime if they:

• live in a different state than the child or have traveled to another state to avoid paying child support, and
• have not paid support for more than a year or owe at least $5,000 in arrears.

Parents found guilty of this crime could face fines, imprisonment, or both. (18 U.S.C. § 228 (2024).)

When Do You Need a Lawyer's Help to Enforce Child Support?

As discussed above, Georgia's CSS will usually be your first stop to collect child support, but you may go directly to court to enforce your order. The forms for filing a contempt motion, as well as the exact procedures involved, may vary from county to county. If you plan to take this route on your own, you can check with your local court clerk for information.

However, you should know that it can be difficult to navigate the legal contempt proceedings without a lawyer's help. Also, an experienced local family law attorney can explain other options for enforcing your child support order and collecting the money through Georgia's courts. It may help to know that the judge may order the other parent to pay your attorney's fees for the contempt proceeding. (Ga. Code § 19-6-2 (2024).)