Family Support Registry & Enforcement

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The court has entered a support order, and the obligor declines to follow it. Now what? Can a parent deny parenting time when the other parent refuses to pay support? No. Alternative methods must be used.

Family Support Registry

First, unless both parents trust each other and have no reason to expect support issues, they should have support go through the Colorado Family Support Registry (FSR). The registry, which is free of charge, is operated by the state Department of Human Services to act as a conduit of support from the obligor to the obligee.

The sole purpose of the FSR is to process and track support payments, as well as address changes, payment inquiries, and payment records. C.R.S. 26-13-114. It offers certain advantages over direct payment between the spouses/parents:

  • The parties can login to their online account to track all payments;
  • No more digging out bank statements, cancelled checks, receipts, etc trying to prove payments. The parties can download a printout of the payment history, which is admissible in Court as proof of the payments per C.R.S. 14-14-104(9).
  • The FSR account will reduce the interaction between the parties, serving as a buffer which is crucial in high conflict cases.
  • If seeking assistance from Child Support Services to enforce or modify support, payments must be made through the FSR to track them.

The FSR may not be for everyone, however:

  • The FSR can, and has, lost track of payments, but in such situations will at least correct a mistake. However, the obligor will need to prove payment (e.g. by providing a cancelled check).
  • There may be a brief delay between the time the FSR receives payment from the obligor and payment to the obligee.
  • Once a support order is entered, it typically takes a month or so before the FSR can process payments, so the parties will still often need to make the first payment directly.
  • The FSR is for child support and maintenance only - it cannot track expenses, for example.

FSR Procedure

When a domestic relations case involving children is filed with the Court, the that involves children (divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities, etc.), is initially filed with the Court, a FSR account number is generated and can be found at the top of the payment receipt. If you lose the number, you can contact the court clerk or the division presiding over the case to obtain it (In El Paso County, the main clerk number is (719) 452-5000.

Upon support being ordered, a separate support order containing personal information about the parties and information about the support obligation is required. If the support order directs payments through the FSR, the court will typically notify the FSR in 7-10 days after the order.

The FSR then sends the parties a new account notification. Upon receipt, the parties can visit the FSR web site to set up payments, track payments, etc.

Payments through the FSR

The FSR accepts checks, money orders, automatic withdrawals (EFT’s), pay-by-phone, direct deposit, and they also offer a FSR card as options to both make and receive payments. Do NOT sent cash, although cash payments can be made at certain authorized locations. Click for more information about the various payment options.

Automatic withdrawals allow for support payments to be paid on a regular schedule by withdrawing the funds from a bank account. There are no fees for this service and this option prevents the inconvenience of mailing a check or money order. Automatic withdrawals also guarantees that the payments are always received on time. FSR can stop these payments with 3 days advance written notice. This notice can be sent by fax to FSR, Attn: Financial Services at 303-299-9122 or PO Box 2171, Denver, CO 80201-2171.

The obligee has a variety of options for payment, including receiving a mailed check (probably the worst option, as it builds in more delay and the potential for getting lost), electronic deposit into a bank account, or the FSR Card. The FSR card, accepted where Visa is accepted, operates like a debit card, with the FSR automatically crediting the card when a payment is made.

Payments that are received through the FSR, with the account number included, are typically processed the same business day and are typically disbursed the following business day. If the support payments are disbursed by direct deposit, the deposit is typically available within 2 business days.

Income Assignment

The simplest way to ensure the continued flow of payments is to initiate an income assignment, which is a direct payment from an obligor’s paycheck. Unlike the old garnishments used for “deadbeat parents” an income-assignment is mandatory upon request by one party, and is routine enough that it is supposed to be stigma free.

An income assignment is not for everyone - there are disadvantages, including:

  • It is more cumbersome, taking a few weeks to initiate or modify.
  • A change in support or maintenance requires a new income assignment, which again takes time (and money, if lawyers are involved).
  • If the obligor changes employment, a new income assignment must be initiated with the new employer.
  • An employer snafu may result in non-payment, requiring chasing down the obligor..

The income assignment is separate from the FSR. Payments may be made through the registry, or they may go directly to the obligee.

Contempt of Court

When an obligor falls behind on support or maintenance payments, the obligee may initiate contempt of court proceedings. There are two types of contempt, either of which is pretty certain to get the deadbeat’s attention: remedial, and punitive.

Remedial Contempt means that the payor is threatened with punishment, typically jail, unless payment is made by a deadline set by the court. And the obligor will typically be ordered to pay the obligee’s attorney’s fees, in addition to whatever fees the obligor himself has incurred. So non-payment can get very expensive!

Punitive Contempt is a quasi-criminal proceeding by which the court punishes the obligor for his/her past failure to pay, without waiting to set a deadline.

The obligee cannot link parenting time to receipt of child support, or deny visitation to a "deadbeat" parent. Thus, if the obligor is behind in payments, other enforcement methods must be used.

Entry of Judgment & Lien

In Colorado, a child support or maintenance payment becomes a judgment, automatically, each month it is due. However, in order to memorialize the actual arrears, the obligee files a Verified Entry of Judgment, which captures both the principal amount owing, as well as interest (12% for child support, 8% for maintenance).

Once the entry of judgment has been filed, the obligee can obtain an abstract of judgment from the courthouse, and use it to impose a lien upon the obligor’s real estate. It won’t guarantee immediate payment, but eventually payment will have to be made.

Child Support Services (CSS) Involvement

Finally, an obligee or obligor can obtain assistance from the local Child Support Services office to modify support, or to enforce it. (Click for the El Paso County Child Support Services web site). As indicated above, if CSS is involved, payments will have to go through the Family Support Registry.

CSS has enforcement measures not available to private counsel or parties, including revoking driver’s licenses, passports or professional licenses, attaching tax returns. And, like a private attorney or party, they can also pursue contempt of court.

There are downsides to using CSS, however:

  • CSS will not calculate outstanding interest. If the obligee has filed an entry of judgment which includes interest, CSS will enforce it, but they cannot calculate the interest.
  • CSS is time-consuming. Between the time to get CSS involved, then to contact the parties, try to work out an administrative enforcement, then seeking judicial enforcement, it takes months, longer than with a private counsel.

Do You Need a Child Support Lawyer in Colorado Springs?

The family law attorneys at Graham.Law have years of experience helping clients through the Colorado legal system. We know Colorado family laws, inside and out, from divorce to legal separation, from annulments to military divorce issues. And we know how to enforce child support obligations. For more information about our El Paso County family law firm, click on:

Colorado family law is all we do. Period.

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