Child support is often awarded to custodial parents in order to ensure the non-custodial parent provides financial assistance to children from a relationship that has ended. Some parents choose to handle child support privately without involving the court system at all. In this situation, the non-custodial parent will give money directly to the custodial parent throughout the month.  While this arrangement works well for adults who have an amicable relationship, a former couple who have a difficult time communicating may have trouble coming to an understanding without the help of a third party. Before making any decision regarding what arrangement would work best for you, it is a good idea to make yourself aware of the pros and cons of Georgia child support enforcement.

Reduced Contact

Seen as a pro by parents who do not get along with each other, reduced contact is one of the benefits of using child support enforcement. Once child support enforcement is involved in the case, the custodial parent receives a state issued debit card or sets up direct deposit through the Georgia child support enforcement online portal. Money collected from the non-custodial parent is deposited automatically without either adult needing to speak to each other. If the non-custodial parent changes jobs or obtains another job, child support enforcement continues collection without requiring the parents discuss the change in detail.

Collection Errors

Since child support enforcement handles thousands of cases that are at all stages of collection, mistakes can occur. Common errors include overpayment in the form of the non-custodial parent having too much of his or her income withheld along with errors dispersing child support payments to the recipient. When these errors occur, it can take weeks for child support enforcement to identify the problem and resolve it. If an overpayment has occurred, the custodial parent may see a temporary pause in collection activities and if collection has not occurred, both parents may need to attend court hearings to resolve the situation. Dealing with these problems is definitely a con that has the potential to cause a lot of long term problems.

Oversight

Viewed as a pro and a con, oversight by the family court system and the child support enforcement agency means that your case will receive monitoring until child support collection ends. Parents who are receiving child support know that if payments begin coming late, the enforcement department will contact the other parent on behalf of the child and handle collection activities. The department will also keep documentation of all transactions so the non-custodial parent does not need to worry about a vindictive ex-partner accusing him or her of falling behind in payments when the account is actually current.

Discuss Your Concerns with an Expert

Parents with young children can expect to interact with each other until the child has graduated from high school. Communication and confrontation avoidance are the best ways for both parties to get through the years without incident. Using child support enforcement could help your situation, but it could also cause problems, so it is a good idea to discuss any concerns you may have with a child support attorney. The team at Vayman & Teitelbaum is able to explain how child support collection in Georgia is handled and provide you with any assistance that you may need. Contact one of our four metro Atlanta offices today to schedule your initial consultation.