Child support payments in New Jersey are calculated using a set formula based on a series of financial variables that take into account both parent's financial situations. Morris County residents, like all residents of New Jersey, can take advantage of certain credits and allowances that can be used to modify the child support amount, but once support has been set, a parent is legally obligated to pay it in full. If payment is not rendered, the parent could face fines or jail time, as seen in the case of one man recently arrested for owing over $261,000 in back child support.
The 66-year-old man has been wanted by authorities for over 10 years for refusing to pay court-ordered child support. By the time he was apprehended on Jan. 21, the delinquent payments totaled more than $261,000. The arrest was the result of a criminal warrant issued on a charge related to his failure to pay. According to the warrant, the man had failed to pay since July 1, 2002, despite being able-bodied and capable of working.
The fugitive was arrested in Fayette, Alabama, by the county's sheriff's office, held at the Fayette County Jail until he was picked up by fugitive investigators from Lexington County. He was then booked into the Lexington County Detention Center on Jan. 21, where he was held on a bond of $50,000.
Morris County residents have a right to expect payment of child support if it is ordered through the courts. If ordered to make payments, residents also have a right to have the amount modified should their financial conditions warrant such changes based on the New Jersey formula set by law, but it's important to go about it in a legal manner rather than avoiding payments.
Source: Your Community Lexington, "Sheriff: Man arrested who up owed more than $261K in unpaid child support," Tenessa Jennings, Jan. 22, 2013
