A major concern for a lot of men today is whether or not failing to pay child support affects credit scores. They want to know what will happen if they refuse to pay their mandatory child support fees, in order to decide if they want to keep paying, take the decision to court or just quit providing the payments altogether. Unfortunately, it is not always that easy. Since a legal ruling in court has typically mandated child support, avoiding payment could get a man into a lot of trouble, both legally and financially.

Late Payment

If a payment is made, but it is late, it can still impact credit. This might not sound entirely fair, but that is just how the system works. In the event of a late payment, the court could choose to report the father to a credit bureau. This would cause him to lose his ability to qualify for a loan until and unless the proper payments have been made. In this case, if a man is going to pay, he might as well do it on time to avoid any possible harm to his credit score.

Court and Credit

If there is a major issue with unpaid or late child support payments, the father may be taken to court. In this instance, a report would be filed to the credit bureau, which would remain on his record for seven years. This hugely impacts his credit score, and will continue to do so for all seven years. Throughout this time, a man might decide to try to file for bankruptcy in hopes that he can avoid payments. Unfortunately, this does not put him in any better of a situation. In fact, he will still be held accountable for all unpaid accounts and will have to continue paying for current ones.

If he simply chooses not to pay, the father might suffer a loss of twenty or thirty credit points—a pretty large blow. Along with that, he will continue to be reported to the credit bureaus if there is a large history of unpaid support or if the current amount he owes is more than three times what he is otherwise required to pay monthly. The constant reporting will only continue to lower his credit score and can put him into a financial rut. Thus, it is probably best to continue paying child support unless the ruling is overturned in court.

Exceptions

There is one major exception to all of these rules, though it is not always a foolproof way to avoid paying support. If the father is paying the mother directly and not through a court or other agency, the mother cannot personally report him to the credit bureau. In order for any reports to be made, she must go through a child support collection agency or take the matter to court, both of which can be costly and time consuming. Whether or not she will do this largely depends on the woman. If she has been known to fight tooth and nail for what she wants, it is probably not the best idea to get behind on or avoid payments. However, if she is not the type to take things to court or cause a fuss, it could be a reasonable risk to consider. Just be careful, because it can be easy to get caught up in a bunch of legal issues. If a man is considering avoiding child support payments, it is probably wise for him to talk to an attorney before making any rash decisions.

Whatever the reason for not wanting to pay child support, a father should be very cautious and really consider all the implications that a decision like this might possess. In the long run, it is usually better to just take responsibility and make the payments in order to avoid a long road of court hearings, arguments and financial crises later on.

By Kenny Leigh