“I am going to jail before I pay her child support and alimony.” we often hear out clients say. We always chuckle to ourselves because it is obvious that the people who say that have never been to jail and have no idea what it is like in there. We once had a professional client with a huge income in a very high conflict case. He swore he would go to jail before he paid child support. That is what happened when he refused to pay. I passed him that day walking on the shoulder of the road coming away from the Detention Center after his Dad had wired the money to get him out of jail.
Your Maryland attorney can work with you in determining what to do about child support. If child support is in a court order or an agreement that is incorporated in a Court Order, failing to pay child support is contempt of the court order. The ultimate penalty in civil contempt is after the court sets an amount of money that must be paid, jail is ordered if it is not paid.
Jail is not the only consequence. If the support is overdue by more than sixty days, your driver’s license will be forfeited. You could lose your professional license. Your income tax refund could be intercepted and delivered to your former spouse to pay back support. If your former spouse asks to have a Judgment entered against you for past-due support. your bank accounts could be attached. Your car and other assets could be attached and sold. A judgment is a lien against any real estate you own.
The moral of the story is: “Pay your child support.”
