Whenever parents divorce in New Jersey, one very important issue to study is that of child support. Under New Jersey law, both parents are obligated to provide financial support to their children. In general, courts consider a number of factors, such as each parent’s incomes, amount of time the child spends at each parent’s home, and the medical insurance premiums for the child, before deciding upon a child support order.

It is important to come up with an appropriate and reasonable child support order, because a failure to pay can result in serious consequences. Penalties for failure to pay can include fines and even jail time, and authorities are very serious about this. In fact, just last week federal prosecutors announced that the federal government’s “most wanted deadbeat parent” has been arrested.

The 50-year-old New York man was arrested Dec. 17 when he landed on U.S. soil after being deported from Thailand. He stands accused of failing to pay court-ordered child support for more than 10 years.

The support had been ordered for three children from two marriages, and has now allegedly amounted to more than $1 million in delinquencies.

Child support is normally a state matter, but federal authorities will intervene in certain cases, most often after a certain amount of arrears has mounted and the child lives in a different state than the noncustodial parent, or when the noncustodial parent moves to another state or country to avoid paying child support.

Cases that remain at the state level, however, can also lead to arrests and prosecution.

When a parent thinks that a child support obligation has become unsustainable–due to a significant change in income of either parent, or perhaps due to a change in the child’s needs–it is necessary to petition the court for a modification before halting or decreasing payments.

Parents who are having trouble obtaining child support that has been ordered can also seek assistance from the court. An enforcement action may allow the state to help get the money to the custodial parent.

Source: The Associated Press, “Feds say NY man owes $1 million in child support,” Dec. 18, 2012