Determining and Enforcing Child Support in New Jersey

Information about New Jersey child support awards.

2011-10-22

October 22, 2011 (Press-News.org) The court uses a complex set of factors when determining a New Jersey child support award. Child support, intended to provide for the care, maintenance and education of a child, can be a hotly contested issue. In some cases, parents try to manipulate the system in an effort to receive more or pay less. While it is important to make sure that the court has all the facts when considering child support, it is also important to remember why child support exists in the first place -- to support minor children after divorce or when parents never married.

The court evaluates issues such as:
- The needs of the child
- The standard of living and the financial needs of both parents
- The earning capacity of each parent
- The presumed custody awards
- Cost of child care
- The probability that the child may attend college
- The age and health of the child and the parents
- The parents' responsibility for others, including other children and elderly parents

The law requires both parents to be responsible for the support of children, which is why courts take into account the circumstances of both parents when determining support awards. Moreover, courts must employ this type of analysis not only in divorce cases, but also during separations in which temporary support is awarded (pendente lite), when resolving domestic violence cases and when determining public assistance amounts.

A major issue for courts and social service agencies is determining the right support amounts -- amounts that adequately provide for children, but that do not bankrupt the paying parent. Enforcing child support payments is another major issue that frequently involves legal action.

When child support payments are late, incomplete or never made, the state has a variety of enforcement mechanisms at its disposal. These include:
- Withholding/garnishing wages and income
- Reporting delinquencies to credit agencies in instances where more than $1,000 is owed
- Intercepting lottery winnings if a parent is more than $600 in arrears
- Offsetting tax refunds
- Seizing assets such as bank accounts when the noncustodial parent owes child support and has the means to pay
- Suspending recreational and professional licenses
- Denying passport issuance or renewal to parents who owe more than $2,500 in back child support
- Confiscating civil awards and settlements
- Seeking arrest warrants from a judge
- Issuing judgments after hearings in Family Court

These enforcement techniques may also be used to ensure that children are covered by health insurance and to enforce spousal support awards that are tied to child support amounts. In all instances, the dollar amounts that trigger enforcement action change over time, so those amounts listed above could become greater or smaller.

Employers are often conduits for child support payments and enforcement mechanisms. They withhold wages, make payments to the state and report new hires to facilitate locating delinquent parents. This has proven to be an incentive to parents who might otherwise fall behind in their child support payments; they do not want their employers to learn of any delinquency and consequently do not fall behind.

Other third parties involved in enforcing child support include the U.S. State Department (passports), the New Jersey Lottery (winnings), licensing agencies such as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (hunting and fishing licenses), and the Internal Revenue Service. Enforcing child support involves a multipronged strategy.

People who owe back child support or those seeking to enforce a child support order may wish to consult a family law attorney to learn about their options. Because of the many layers of government involved in child support enforcement, having a knowledgeable guide through the system can make a big difference.

Article provided by The Law Offices of David T. Schlendorf
Visit us at http://www.dtslawfirm.com/

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The cost of consumer fibbing: Can it hurt to tell a little white lie?

2011-10-22

Consumers who tell little white lies to avoid confrontation might find themselves rewarding the people who inconvenienced them, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Most consumers have told an inquiring server that their cold meal is fine, a hairdresser that they like their unexpected 'new look,' or a friend that his/her too-snug jeans look great," write authors Jennifer J. Argo (University of Alberta) and Baba Shiv (Stanford University). But according to the researchers, white lies have negative repercussions for the people who tell them. In ...

When do consumers try to increase social standing by eating too much?

2011-10-22

Consumers who feel powerless will choose larger size food portions in an attempt to gain status, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But there is hope for convincing them that a Big Gulp won't translate to higher ranking. "An ongoing trend in food consumption is consumers' tendency to eat more and more," write authors David Dubois (HEC Paris), Derek D. Rucker, and Adam D. Galinsky (both Northwestern University). "Even more worrisome, the increase in food consumption is particularly prevalent among vulnerable populations such as lower socioeconomic ...

How does hand orientation help consumers imagine using products?

2011-10-22

Consumers need a little help when it comes to imagining using products, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Sometimes that means orienting an advertisement toward a dominant hand or helping them picture using the product (like putting a spoon in a soup advertisement). "Across four studies we show that by simply orienting a product toward one's dominant (vs. non-dominant hand) in a visual advertisement leads to increases in imagined product use," write authors Ryan S. Elder (Brigham Young University) and Aradhna Krishna (University of Michigan). The ...

Is it best to withhold favorable information about products?

2011-10-22

Consumers are more likely to choose products when marketers withhold some favorable information until late in the choice process, according to the Journal of Consumer Research. But marketers need to walk a fine line to disclose information at just the right time. "Conventional wisdom suggests that when seeking to persuade consumers to buy certain products, sellers ought to always 'put their best foot forward' by providing as much favorable information about these products as possible once they have consumers' attention," write authors Xin Ge (University of Northern British ...

Joplin Tornado: Businesses are Suffering Too

2011-10-22

The tornado that touched down in Joplin, Missouri earlier this year reminds us just how devastating natural disasters can be. This deadly tornado not only destroyed countless homes, but also decimated a number of Joplin businesses in the process. In a statement to CBS News, Rob O'Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, estimated that as many as 300 businesses were lost due to the tornado - affecting as many as 4,000 jobs. Many of the area's largest employers, including national chains and large businesses, have pledged to rebuild. Even small, local ...

What defines life satisfaction for consumers living in poverty?

2011-10-22

People whose basic needs are met get more life satisfaction when they are more connected to others and when they experience greater autonomy, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But those who live in dire conditions have little hope of achieving such satisfaction. "About three-fourths of the planet's population lives in nations with less than ideal material conditions, defined by low levels of marketplace abundance and lack of bargaining power necessary to access this abundance," write authors Kelly D. Martin (Colorado State University) and Ronald ...

Why does explaining why a cupcake is delicious make us love it less?

2011-10-22

When consumers share their thoughts about products or experiences, their opinions can intensify, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But it depends on whether they're talking about something sensory or practical. "Consumers constantly share stories with others about products and services through word of mouth (WOM)," writes author Sarah G. Moore (University of Alberta). "How does sharing WOM change storytellers' feelings about their own experiences? Does sharing stories make consumers like the experience more or less than before? Moore asks. In ...

Social isolation: Are lonely consumers actually loners or conformers?

2011-10-22

Despite the proliferation of social networks, many Americans feel alone and isolated. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, lonely individuals behave differently in the marketplace than people with strong social networks. "Despite the popularity of Wi-Fi technologies and social networks such as Facebook, Americans are more socially isolated than two decades ago," write authors Jing Wang (University of Iowa), Rui (Juliet) Zhu (University of British Columbia), and Baba Shiv (Stanford University). According to the authors, in 2004 almost twenty five ...

Housing, health care contribute most to rising costs of living in Washington

2011-10-22

It costs 8 percent more on average than it did two years ago for Washington residents to make ends meet, according to a new report from a University of Washington research group. A single parent with one preschooler and one school-age child living in Seattle needs an annual income of $56,904 – up 13 percent from $50,268 two years ago – to meet the family's most basic requirements, according to the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2011 released today. A similar family living in Spokane County needs $41,750, up 8 percent from $38,562 two years ago. "Even ...

Researchers find coupling of proteins promotes glioblastoma development

2011-10-22

Two previously unassociated proteins known to be overly active in a variety of cancers bind together to ignite and sustain malignant brain tumors, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports this week in the journal Cancer Cell. This research is the first to connect FoxM1 to a molecular signaling cascade that regulates normal neural stem cells, said senior author, Suyun Huang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Neurosurgery. "When FoxM1 binds to beta-catenin, we found that it also supports ...

Determining and Enforcing Child Support in New Jersey

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: