Klord said:
YOUR STATE NAME - NEVADA - I live in Nevada and I am going through a divorce. I have seen snippets of news clips about father/mother ending up in jail over failure to pay child support.
I may be required to pay child support after the divorce is over for one child. I am partially disabled and that seriously limits many job opportunities.
Could I be thrown in jail for my inability to find a job that would pay for full child support? It would seem kind of stupid to put someone in jail for not paying. It's like biting the hand that feeds you. You damn sure wont get child support from someone locked up in a jail (they aren't earning money there). And the criminal record will make it harder for the parent to find a decent paying job. Thus, the ability to collect child support just got that much more difficult.
I have heard of the 13th Amendment and the so-called involuntary servitude issue being put to the test here. Does this apply to child support? Can I be jailed for not meeting child support?
My response:
Wait a minute, wait a minute - - don't get your underwear in a bunch. You're going way off the "deep end" on this matter, and that's partly because you're starting off with a poor premise. So, I'm going to hopefully set you straight.
First, Family Law judges, while tough, are not heartless people. Despite child support guidelines, judges have great amounts of "discretion" and "latitude" because the State Legislature, and the courts themselves, realize that each case has its own little twists and turns, and not every case is the same, or that each case fits into a nice, predetermined, little package. Life isn't that way, and they know it.
Child support is figured using many different factors - - not just how much money you have in your pocket. It takes into consideration the earning abilities of each parent, their ages, their backgrounds, their physical and mental abilities, and many other factors. Nothing is "rubberstamped" in Family Court. While two cases may seem the same, there's always one factor that a judge considers that may make the judge arrive at a different ruling in one of those cases.
Also, you are arguing, or complaining about, going to jail for not paying child support - - i.e., if you owe a debt, you go to jail. While it may SEEM like this is the case, I assure you it isn't. But to a paying parent, it may as well be - - let me explain . . .
There hasn't been "debtor's prisons" in the United States since around 1895. You can't go to jail or prison for merely owing a debt - - whether in Family Court or any other venue.
The REAL reason that a paying parent may go to jail or prison is not about the debt - - they go to jail or prison due to their "contempt of court." You see, a child support order is just that, an "Order." When a paying parent fails to OBEY a judge's order, whether it be paying child support, or any other portion of the court's order, that places that parent in "contempt of court."
That's the reason why a paying parent may go to jail - - not the debt itself. But, like I said, it sounds like splitting hairs, but I assure you it's not so much about the debt as it is that the parent, in effect, is saying to the judge, "screw you judge. I don't care about your orders, and I'm not going to pay (or whatever other part of the order that isn't being followed)"
Now, you say, "How can I pay if I'm in jail?"
That's easy. You can't. But, that doesn't mean that the debt goes away. It just means that your debt is getting larger, and your child goes on the Welfare System while you're in jail; i.e., the taxpayer has to temporarily pay for your child.
But, jail is used as a deterrent to teach the parent a lesson in always following a judge's orders, and to never commit a "contempt of court" again.
Jail is not normally the first mode of deterrence, either. Usually, it's a verbal "slap on the wrist" or a monetary fine. Jail is usually used as final sanction against a contemnor.
So, take it easy, and the judge will take your physical problems into consideration, and a fair judgment will be ordered.
IAAL
