When the parents of a child do not live in the same household, the court will determine what parent will have custodial rights to the child and what a visitation schedule can look like. The parent that does not primarily live with the child will also be awarded a child support order, which is intended to cover the basic care and medical support of the child in their care.
The parent that has the primary physical custody of the child will also spend a larger amount of time with the child, and will, therefore, spend more money on their expenses. The parent that spends less time with the child, therefore spending less money on their care, must make regularly scheduled payments to the other parent to even out the expenses of care.
In order for one parent to collect child support from the other, they will need the official approval of the Nevada courts. The court will look at the gross monthly income of both of the parents and use child support payment guidelines to make a financial decision. Unfortunately, there may be instances when one parent chooses not to abide by the support order, either due to a conflict with the other parent or a perceived unfairness in cost.
How does CSE enforce support orders?
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services Child Support Enforcement (CSE) office is in charge of collecting support orders from one parent and making payments. When one parent is not abiding by the support order and stops making payments, CSE can take enforcement actions.
Some ways that CSE can obtain child support payments is by:
- Taking money directly from the paying parent's paycheck though income withholding
- Suspending driver's, recreational, professional, sporting, and occupational licenses
- Intercepting federal tax returns
- Damaging the paying parent's credit score in the consumer credit bureau
- Garnishing bank accounts, filing liens, and making claims against estates
- Filing a legal, contempt order
- Referring a case for criminal prosecution
If a parent has moved to another state and doesn't think that they must abide by Nevada's support orders, the CSE can work with the other state to ensure that the support order is upheld.
Support orders are serious business in Nevada, and each parent has the legal obligation to support their child. When one parent neglects to fulfill their responsibilities, there are many methods that CSE can use in order to ensure that the child does not suffer due to the actions of an unpaying parent.