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Divorce is never easy. Out of the Life’s 4Ds – dislocation, death, downsizing, and divorce; divorce is one of the hardest with which to cope. The challenge of it becomes even harder when children involved. Multiply that by ten when the non-custodial parent (NCP) refuses to contribute their fair share of child support.
The courts attempt to enforce payments, but they aren’t always successful. I was lucky that this wasn’t the case with my parents, but unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky. When your case slips through the cracks, allowing your NCP to skip several payments, speak with a child support enforcement agency. They can help you receive the support you need, even if it’s years overdue.
Become a Quasi-detective
It’s relatively easy if you’re savvy. Most single parents will ride out their state department’s assistance, either hoping they’ll manage to catch the NCP or resigning themselves to the fact that support isn’t coming. When neither of these scenarios works, contacting a private collection agency to secure your back child support will take a bit of online sleuthing.
Since this is a private industry, you’ll find companies that are only out there to make money. As a result, their contracts are full of hidden fees and unnecessary charges on top of their regular fee, and you’ll have to pay for all of this regardless of their success at locating your NCP.
Check Out The Child Support Enforcement Council
The trick is to check out the Child Support Enforcement Council and ensure they have a membership. This affiliation ensures they abide by industry-wide standards regarding the quality of their service and the nature of their billing.
Don’t Forget About Reviews
You should also concern yourself with past customers’ reviews. These online comments will give you an insider’s look at how they operate. If a company has more negative reviews than positive, you know to stay clear of them!
Companies with a high success rate and glowing reviews from past customers are available. Just take a look the crew at Support Collectors as an example. With over 20 years in the business, they’ve maintained an A+ score on the Better Business Bureau due to their success in securing back child support and their excellent customer service. The entire team at Support Collectors is committed to locating absent NCPs and reuniting single parents with the money they’re owed.
Consider taking an afternoon or evening to research your options. It shouldn’t take long to speak with an agent to discuss getting child support help. With the right people on the job, your NCP won’t be able to ignore his or her duties anymore—which means you’ll finally get the money your family is due.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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This is very interesting, unfortunately for us we have to sue my husband’s ex wife for support and since the last of her children will be at my home for 2 more years we still get nothing. This is a long story for us. So I hope this helps those who need the help. No one will help us anymore and his ex just got away without paying her support.
That sounds like a really crappy situation. I’m sorry to hear all of that. I hope, by some small chance, something changes in your favor.