Behind on child support payments? The Texas attorney general’s office can now penalize you by blocking your vehicle registration renewal. Beginning this fall, if you have more than six months of unpaid child support, you will be unable to renew your vehicle registration, essentially losing the right to drive your vehicle.
The attorney general’s office takes the stance that this will help children and families get the support they deserve. But this policy could actually make it even tougher to catch up on missed payments. Many times, past-due child support occurs when a parent simply can’t afford to make the payments, perhaps due to a loss of employment.
Without the right to drive your car, it’s going to be a lot harder to get to work. Meanwhile, child support payments still lag behind, and the problem worsens.
The attorney general’s office already has the authority to revoke your driver’s license for past-due payments. However, unlike suspending a driver’s license, the state is not required to have a hearing to deny your vehicle renewal.
If you’re more than six months past due, you will be notified of the hold in their standard three-month renewal notice, as well as receive a letter from the Child Support Division with the steps you must take in order to be able to renew your registration. The hold would only be removed by calling the attorney general’s office, making a payment arrangement, and fulfilling that arrangement.
This is just the latest in a wave of regulations and punishments imposed by the Office of the Texas Attorney General to compel the non-compliant to pay their child support. If you’re behind on your child support, you need to face the problem head-on. When it comes to child support arrearages, the problem won’t go away and, chances are, the situation will only get worse.
At Schreier and Housewirth we’ve help families negotiate with the Attorney General so they can keep their lives moving while fulfilling their responsibilities to their children. Call us to discuss your situation before it gets out of hand.
