The ongoing obligation of child support

Each year many parents in Colorado face an issue that can cause stress and contention: child support. Whether the parents of the child in question were ever married or not, a split in the relationship will likely lead one of the parents to make a claim for child support from the other parent. A demand for money from a person you are no longer involved in a relationship with can lead to extremely negative feelings for the other parent, while being saddled with the ongoing obligation of child support can feel like a financial burden for many parents, even though the amount is supposed to be fair and manageable to pay.

There is, of course, one primary goal for a family law court in Colorado to order child support in the first place: make sure the child in question has all needs fulfilled. After all, it is the obligation of both parents to help raise a child, no matter the circumstances.

However, in some cases, obtaining a child support order may not be as challenging as some people might think. For example, if the parents can agree on an amount and frequency of the child support payments in out-of-court negotiations, the family law court may be inclined to approve that agreement.

But, unfortunately, even if a child support arrangement is agreed, that doesn’t mean that the other parent will always comply with the ongoing obligation. This is also true when a court orders a child support arrangement. There may be times when child support payments lapse and, if that occurs, the parent who is supposed to receive the payments may need to begin to look for options to have the order enforced.