There are many parents in Pennsylvania who owe back child support or who are not current on child support payments. Many of these parents do not want to be in this situation but due to circumstances, they fell behind in payments or are unable to afford payments. Being on the other side where you depend on the payments and are not getting them can be frustrating, but you can work with the other parent to help get your child support situation back on track.
According to the Administration for Children & Families, your first contact should be the child support office in your county. You should have them start an investigation into why the other parent is not paying. However, if you and the other parent are on good terms, you may ask directly. Perhaps the other parent lost his or her job or is in the middle of being transferred or changing jobs. This could be a temporary situation. If you find it is going to persist, you may request a modification of child support for a short term to allow the other parent to get back on his or her feet.
While your first instinct may be to try to get the money through any means, you should keep in mind that penalties for not paying support could include jail or driver’s license suspension. If these things happen, it will just make it harder for him or her to get to work to pay the support payments. So, it could backfire on you to fight over the situation.
If the other parent is willing to pay but just cannot do it at this time, then it may be better to work with him or her. You may be able to get things back on track and avoid negative situations. This information is for education and is not legal advice.