Failure to Pay Child Support :: Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Failure to pay child support is not technically classified as a "criminal offense," but it is an action that often has criminal ramifications and often forces the accused to seek criminal representation. Every year, many Tennesseans find themselves being brought into court to answer for failure to pay. If you find yourself in that situation, you will be forced to explain to the judge or child support referee why you have not made the child support payments that you are obligated to pay and hope that the judge or referee thinks that your excuse is good enough. If they do not buy your reasoning, you could face up to six months in jail pursuant to T.C.A. 36-5-104.

When a person is facing criminal prosecution for failure to pay child support, the court's inquiry will basically focus on two factors: (1) whether the obligor had the ability to pay the child support that he or she has been ordered to pay, and, if so, (2) whether that individual willfully neglected to pay child support. The court will usually answer these inquiries by looking at how much money an individual has made over the relevant period of time and how he or she has chosen to spend those funds. If the individual has been disabled, unemployed, or otherwise suffered some hardship during that time through no fault of their own, the court may find that individual unable to pay during the relevant time period and he or she may avoid being punished for failing to pay support. Likewise, circumstances sometimes exist where an individual's failure to pay is based on a mistake or accident and is thus not willful.

One defense to such a prosecution that will never prove successful is saying that the obligor did not pay because he or she was not allowed to see the children or because he or she felt the other parent was misusing the funds. Courts have held time and again that such circumstances do not relieve the parent of responsibility to their child or children and that support must be paid regardless. Contact a skilled East Tennessee child support attorney today to discuss your case and possible defenses.