Deadbeat Parents Owe Over $100 Billion in Back Support

 Posted on December 10, 2012 in Family Law

The figure is staggering – over $100 billion dollars is owed by deadbeat parents in child support payments nationwide. And in a vicious cycle, nearly half of the amount is owed to taxpayers supporting children whose families are forced to apply for public assistance because the non-custodial parent isn’t paying child support. According to a report on CNN, a spokesperson for the National Women's Law Center says that for poor families, child support payments represent 45% of their income. Deadbeat parents are why 41% of households headed by single mothers are below the poverty level – twice the level of households headed by single men and five times the number of households headed by married couples. The problem of deadbeat parents isn’t as widespread as the $100 billion dollars may make it appear it to be. Statistics show that while only about 60% of the total money owed in child support each year gets paid, over 70% of families receive some amount of payment. The bulk of the money is owed by only 11% of parents who owe 54% of that $100 billion. Some of the options that state has to collecting back child support include garnishing wages and intercepting tax refunds. Those two options don’t work for deadbeats who have found jobs that pay them in cash, or “under the table”, where none of the income is documented or reportable. Other options for collecting are suspending drivers or business licenses. If you are a custodial parent who is owed back child support, contact an experienced Illinois family law attorney today to help you collect what is rightfully owed to your children.