Though most parents do pay child support, there are instances where you or your ex can’t or won’t. Whether the parent is able but refusing, unemployed, on social security, or owns their own business and doesn’t seem to have a regular or trackable income, listen in for what options you have and how you can ensure your children receive financial support.

Most people pay child support because they love their kids and want to take care of them. If your spouse is refusing to pay or evading child support, the attorney general’s office, no matter what state you are in, should have a division in the assistance of child support collection. In Utah, it’s called the Office of Recovery Services (ORS). You’ll want to go online and set up an account and ask them to garnish child support from your spouse. They do this for free because it’s a state agency. The exception is if your ex owns a business and is in charge of their own payroll or if they are on social security, since that’s not garnishable, or if they work odd jobs for cash that isn’t trackable. If this is your situation, you can do a motion to enforce the order. Judges can put someone in jail right from the courthouse if it’s clear your ex isn’t making an effort. If you are unemployed and receiving unemployment payments, you should pay the same percentage of that paycheck as you were paying from your previous paycheck. That shows you’re trying to do your part and the judges will try to work with you. Child support is for your kids. Just pay it.