Underemployment, hiding income to avoid child support

Some parents in Ohio who are supposed to receive child support from another parent might wonder whether that parent is using voluntary impoverishment or hiding income to avoid paying child support. Visiting the office of child support enforcement is the first step in pursuing this. If the parents do not already have a formal child support agreement in place, this office can assist a parent in filing for a child support order that is legally binding.

In voluntary impoverishment, a parent deliberately remains underemployed to keep income low to avoid child support payments. The office of child support enforcement may look at the parent’s education, employment and income history to determine whether this may be the case.

The growing gig economy means that it may be easy for a person to hide income from those types of job. One possible way to detect this is for the office of child support enforcement to look at whether the parent has recently applied for a line of credit. They can then see what the parent has claimed as sources of income. Even a parent who is waiting on paperwork to push the process forward can keep in touch with the office of child support enforcement about the progress of the case, and a case worker may be able to continue pursuing information.

Child support determinations take a number of elements into consideration when considering how much child support will be awarded including parents’ income. If a child support order is in place and a parent paying support loses a job or cannot pay the support because of another change in circumstances, it is possible to petition the court for a modification. However, if the parent has already fallen behind in payments, that parent will probably still owe back child support payments even if the modification is granted.