If you have recently gone through a divorce and have physical custody of your children, chances are your ex-spouse was ordered by the court to pay child support. Unfortunately, this does not mean they will choose to fulfill their legal obligation. Time after time, a non-custodial parent who has been ordered to pay child support will in fact choose not to do so. As a result, you now find yourself not only in a difficult financial situation trying to provide for your kids, but also pursuing another legal battle pertaining to your divorce. Should you now be needing to enforce an existing child support order, here is what you need to know. The Law is On Your Side From local agencies all the way up to federal officials, the law for enforcing child support is clearly on your side. In fact, a federal task force known as "Project Save Our Children" investigates and assists with prosecuting the worst cases involving deadbeat parents. Therefore, if you and your children are now suffering financially due to the other parent's failure to do as they should, seek the counsel of an experienced divorce attorney who can hold your ex-spouse accountable for their lack of caring. Various Enforcement Tools If you are now on the quest to get the child support needed for you and your kids, the good news is that there are various enforcement tools your lawyer and the courts can use to reign in a deadbeat parent. One of the most common is a wage deduction, also referred to as garnishing of wages. If this occurs, your much-needed child support payments will be taken out of your ex-spouse's wages on a regular basis until their obligation is met. In other situations, the court can order a deadbeat parent's federal tax refund be used to make child support payments. Other enforcement measures include surrendering of their passport, especially if the court believes they are a flight risk, and also revoking professional licenses or even their driver's license in extreme cases. Since you will have many enforcement tools that can be used by your attorney and the court, do all you can to ensure you and your children are not made to continue an unnecessary financial struggle. Penalties for Deadbeat Parents For those deadbeat parents who have refused to meet their court-ordered child support obligations, the ensuing penalties can be very severe. In addition to the many enforcement tools described above, deadbeat parents can face heavy fines and even be sentenced to jail or prison. For example, if you have been dealing with a deadbeat ex-spouse who has refused to pay child support for one year or more, owes in excess of $5,000 in back-payments, and has perhaps moved to another state in an effort to not make their payments, they could face fines and as much as six months in prison. However, if non-payment has been ongoing for at least two years or payments owed to you exceed $10,000, your deadbeat ex-spouse could be staring at a $250,000 fine and two years in prison. Since it may take harsh penalties such as these to finally resolve your situation, don't hesitate to work with your attorney and other officials to do what is needed for you and your kids. Contempt of Court If you have not been receiving the child support payments your ex-spouse agreed to pay so that your children can continue to maintain a good standard of living, you may need to work with your attorney to find the other parent in contempt of court. Often a good first step in helping to resolve such situations, this will be a legal order from a judge that may lead to fines or jail time for your ex-spouse. Since your attorney will need to petition the court for this order, always make sure you have ample evidence of non-payment to provide to your lawyer. By doing so, you can make it much easier to have the court find in your favor, setting the stage for collection of child support payments that are long overdue. Don't Give Up Perhaps more than anything, never give up in your quest to collect the child support payments you and your kids need and deserve. Though strict laws are now in place to enforce child support payments, many deadbeat spouses still think if they hold out long enough, the problem will go away. However, the opposite happens. The longer payments are withheld, the amount only increases, and the penalties continue to increase in severity. Therefore, don't let your emotions cloud your thinking along the way. By hiring an experienced divorce attorney you can trust and working with them each step of the way, you and your children can get the money needed for food, clothing, and other necessities.