A question that I hear a lot from clients and prospective clients is, “Can
I stop the visitation order if my ex isn’t paying child support?”
Although it can be frustrating, the answer is no. As far as the courts
are concerned, a visitation order is a visitation order and a child support
order is a child support order.
You can not unilaterally decide to stop the visitation order, but you can
do an earnings and withholding order to get the child support directly
from your ex’s employer. You can also petition the court to have
your ex sanctioned, or as a last resort, you can petition the court to
have your ex held in contempt.
The bottom line is that
you can’t and shouldn’t stop the visitation order if your ex isn’t paying child support, but you do have options to
remedy the situation. If you’re going through a situation like this
or you have any other legal questions, feel free to reach out via phone
or email. I would love to hear from you.