Getting used to your new custody and child support arrangements can be stressful. It can further overwhelm you if your spouse is not honoring these agreements. Here are two spousal issues that you may be facing.

Spousal Issues | Your Spouse Not Paying Child Support

People frequently come into our Rochester office with the complaint that their spouse – or former spouse or boyfriend or girlfriend – is no longer paying ordered child support. Unfortunately, the truth is that, if the other person just stops paying child support, the onus then falls to the one who should be receiving it to take the next step by filing a petition in either the Supreme Court or family court to enforce that child support obligation.

Once that application is made, the court will then investigate the specific circumstances. One thing you’ll ask for is that, going forward, support be paid through child support collection. You’ll ask for a wage deduction to be automatically taken out of the other person’s paycheck, so you don’t have to repeat your child support collection battle week after week. The burden is on you in to file that enforcement petition to collect that previously ordered child support.

Spousal Issues | Your Spouse Refuses to Let You See the Children

Occasionally, a mom or dad comes into the office and says the other parent is not letting them visit with the child. In those circumstances, one thing that parent must do immediately is make application to the court. Just as a point of guidance, this must be done as soon as possible. If the situation is permitted to continue for months and months, it’s a lot harder to make a valid argument. Go in right away and say, “This is how the situation was and then, suddenly, Mom (or Dad) is not letting me see my child anymore.” Once you make that application to the court, the judge will examine all the factors, listen to the other person’s response, and hear their reason for refusal. Generally, if a pattern of access with your child has been established, you would submit an enforcement petition requesting the court to enforce the rights to access with your child that existed prior to their being denied.

If you are experiencing spousal issues, please call our Rochester family law attorneys today.

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