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The Friend of the Court may be
required to periodically review child support, including health
care provisions and petition the court for a change in the order
if a change is warranted.
Otherwise, when directed by the
judge, the Friend of the Court will conduct a financial investigation
and make a written report and recommendation to the parties (or
his/her attorneys) and the judge regarding child support. Friend
of the Court reports cannot be used as evidence in court without
the agreement of both parties. The Friend of the Court investigator
may be called as a witness to testify about their report.
The
Friend of the Court has many
enforcement remedies available to collect support. They include:
Immediate Income
Withholding: Income withholding
directs the payer's employer or other source of income to withhold
support and send it to the Friend of the Court.
Contempt of Court
(Show Cause) Hearing: If support is not paid
on time, the Friend of the Court or a party may begin a contempt
action (known as a "show cause" hearing), by filing papers
requiring the payer to appear in court.
Income Tax Intercept:
If support is overdue, the Friend of the Court must request
an income tax intercept for cases that qualify under the Federal
IV-D program.
In such cases, a tax refund due
the payer of support is sent to the Friend of the Court and applied
to past due support for minor children. If there is any child support
due a state, the income tax intercept must first be applied to this
unpaid amount.
License Suspension:
For payers with an arrearage of two or more months of
support, the Friend of the Court may initiate action to have
occupational or drivers' licenses suspended. A payer can avoid
a license suspension by showing that there is a mistake regarding
the amount of the arrearage or entering into an agreement
accepted by the court for the payment of the arrearage.
Consumer Reporting:
The Friend of the Court must report to a consumer reporting
agency the arrearage amount for each payer with two or more months
of support arrearage. Lenders will often obtain a credit report
from a consumer reporting agency when deciding whether to extend
credit. If the credit report shows a history of untimely support
payments or a large arrearage, the report may result in a denial
of a loan or other credit. The Friend of the Court may also make
support information available to a consumer reporting agency if
requested by the support payer.
Liens:
A claim against real or personal property.
Cash Bonds:
A payment of a specific amount of money to guarantee future
support payments will be made. In some cases, the Friend of
the Court may be able to obtain a lien or cash bond on a payer's
real or personal property.
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