Parental Rights & Obligations

questions & answers

Question: I have sol custody of my son and his father has been ordered to pay child support but has failed to make an effort too. He has supervised visitation is it legal for me to stop that visitation for failed payment.

Answer:

Child support payments and parent-child access do not have anything to do with each other. In the event that a Child Support Order is not being followed, filing an enforcement action may be necessary to correct the problem. You may want to review the article on this website about Child Support in Arizona.

That article states: State law requires that child support be paid before other debts are paid. However, if a payor fails to make court-ordered child support payments, the payee can consult with an attorney regarding filing an enforcement action. If you decide to consult with an attorney to begin a child support enforcement action, you may want to review the article on this site about "Where to Find an Attorney for Specific Legal Advice."  In some countieshttp://www.azcourts.gov/AZCourts/AZCourtsLocator.aspx , a Self-Service center (where online forms can be found) is available for parties who wish to represent themselves in court or you may contact the Child Support Enforcement Agency to request help collecting child support payments.