Divorce and Family Law Office of Joanne Kleiner

Divorce Lawyer Joanne Kleiner

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Nov 15, 2025

Enforcing Alimony and Child Support Orders in Pennsylvania

When a divorce or separation concludes, the resulting court orders are meant to bring stability. These orders often include child support or alimony, designed to provide financial security to a former spouse and children. Unfortunately, not every paying party follows through on their obligations. When payments are missed or delayed, the receiving spouse may need to take action through the court system. In Pennsylvania, there are clear legal mechanisms to enforce alimony and child support orders.

Why Enforcement Matters

Support obligations are not optional. Child support ensures children have food, clothing, housing, medical care, and access to education. Alimony can provide essential resources for a spouse transitioning to financial independence after a marriage ends. Missed or late payments can place significant strain on families, potentially leaving the receiving party without funds needed for rent, bills, or daily living expenses.

Pennsylvania law recognizes the importance of timely payments. As a result, it offers a range of enforcement options to help families collect what they are owed.

Enforcement Options in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Section (DRS) of the court system plays a central role in enforcing support orders. If a spouse falls behind on alimony or child support, the court has several tools at its disposal:

  1. Income Withholding (Wage Garnishment)
    The most common enforcement tool is wage garnishment. Employers can be ordered to deduct support payments directly from a paying spouse’s paycheck and send them to the receiving party. This system helps ensure payments are regular and reliable.
  2. Contempt of Court
    If someone willfully ignores a support order, the court may hold them in contempt. Consequences can include fines, payment of the other party’s attorney fees, or even jail time in serious cases.
  3. Seizure of Assets
    Courts can order bank accounts to be seized or place liens on property to cover unpaid support. This helps recover overdue payments when wages are not sufficient.
  4. Tax Refund Intercepts
    Federal or state tax refunds may be intercepted and redirected to pay overdue child support. This option is often used for significant arrears.
  5. License Suspensions
    Pennsylvania law allows for the suspension of driver’s licenses, professional licenses, or even recreational licenses (such as hunting or fishing permits) if a parent or spouse consistently fails to pay.
  6. Credit Reporting
    Unpaid support can be reported to credit bureaus, lowering the paying party’s credit score and impacting their ability to secure loans or housing.
  7. Passport Restrictions
    In cases of significant unpaid child support, the federal government can deny the issuance or renewal of a passport.

The Enforcement Process

The enforcement process usually begins when the receiving spouse notifies the Domestic Relations Section about missed payments. Documentation is critical—keeping track of payment dates, amounts, and any communication with the paying spouse helps strengthen the enforcement case.

Once a claim is made, the DRS may schedule a hearing. At the hearing, the paying spouse must explain why payments have not been made. If the court finds the nonpayment to be intentional, it can impose any of the enforcement tools listed above.

Special Considerations for Alimony vs. Child Support

While child support is heavily regulated under Pennsylvania law and always subject to court enforcement, alimony is slightly different. Alimony is based on the terms of the divorce decree or settlement agreement. If the paying spouse stops making payments, the receiving spouse must usually file a petition with the court for enforcement.

Child support enforcement tends to move more quickly, since the state has a vested interest in ensuring children are provided for. Alimony enforcement still carries legal weight, but the process may require additional steps, such as proving willful nonpayment.

Preventing Future Enforcement Issues

Prevention is often easier than enforcement. A well-drafted settlement agreement or court order should clearly outline:

  • The amount of support owed.
  • Payment due dates.
  • The method of payment (direct deposit, wage garnishment, etc.).
  • Consequences for nonpayment.

By setting expectations early, families can reduce misunderstandings and avoid the need for repeated enforcement actions.

The Importance of Legal Representation

When support payments are delayed or stopped, it is important to act quickly. Allowing arrears to accumulate can make collection harder over time. An experienced family law attorney can help file the necessary petitions, represent you at hearings, and ensure enforcement tools are applied properly.

For families in southeastern Pennsylvania, including Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia Counties, the Law Office of Joanne E. Kleiner offers guidance in enforcing child support and alimony orders. With more than 35 years of experience, attorney Joanne Kleiner has represented parents and spouses in both negotiation and enforcement proceedings. If you are struggling with missed support payments, call 215-886-1266 to schedule a confidential consultation and protect your financial stability.

May 29

When a Child Refuses to See a Parent

What If the Child Doesn’t Want to See a Parent?

When parents are separated in Pennsylvania, the father will usually get about 28% of the time with the kids. However, some older children may be unhappy with this balance, and they may even want to completely cut out one of the parents from their lives. This feeling could be even more accentuated during the COVID-19 crisis when kids do not want to leave home.

A Parent Cannot Contribute to the Situation

The question is how far a parent must go in order to encourage their child to see the other parent. What’s absolutely certain is that the parent cannot encourage their child to not visit with the other parent. For example, they cannot suggest that the child stay home and not see their parent due to any COVID-19-related concerns. If that happens, it could be grounds for an alienation charge. This could even lead to a change in custody and other court sanctions against the alienating parent, such as contempt of court.

However, the parent rides a very fine line between hearing a child out and encouraging the situation. This places them in legal peril. One of the first things that a parent should do if their child voices a preference to not see the other parent is to contact a child custody lawyer for guidance. The current pandemic situation requires an even more delicate approach.

Have a Neutral Conversation

At the same time, the parent should know the reason why the child does not want to see the other parent. If it’s something that threatens the safety or well-being of the child, the parent should know what’s happening.

However, there is a narrow distinction between listening to the child’s concerns and being perceived as contributing to the situation. The parent should definitely have a conversation with the child to understand the roots of their concerns.

If the concerns do not involve the child’s well-being, the parent probably should encourage them to observe the visitation schedule and see the other parent. At the very least, it’s important to be seen as promoting a relationship with the other parent given the consequences for alienation.

What Happens If the Child Refuses to Visit?

This is where a parent ends up in a very delicate situation. Failing to make the child available for the visit at the appointed time in the custody schedule can mean contempt of court charges. On the other hand, a parent would hate to force the child into something.

In general, the parent should err on the side of making the child available for the visit. This is especially true during the COVID-19 lockdown when the court does not want to see parents acting unilaterally on their own. However, if the child absolutely refuses to see the other parent, there will need to be some documentation to keep the parent out of trouble with the court. If your child just simply will not go, you’ll need to send a timely message to the other parent. Try to take some video or recordings of the child’s refusal so that there is some documentation. You should also notify your attorney as soon as possible for guidance on how to handle the situation.

Will the Court Order the Child to Visit?

A family court judge will certainly want to know the reason why the child does not want to visit with the other parent. The judge may even bring the child into his or her chambers for a conversation without either of the parents present to get to the bottom of the situation.

The court is more likely to order a change in the visitation agreement in accordance with the child’s wishes if the child is a teenager. At that age, a minor has some more say over the situation. If the child is younger, the court may not decree a change in the arrangements absent some compelling reason to do so.

Your legal path may be fraught with danger if you are in this position, so you need to act very carefully. This may even be more accentuated right now by the fact that COVID-19 has largely closed family courts.

If you are having issues with your custody agreement, contact a child custody lawyer at the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner in Jenkintown, PA. Call us at (215) 886-1266 to schedule your consultation.

May 06

Important Terms to Know as You Prepare for Divorce

Prepare for Divorce

If you are considering or have filed for divorce, or if you anticipate being served with a divorce complaint, you’ll start hearing many terms with which you may not be familiar. Here are some legal terms that you should learn, so that you can meaningfully participate in the proceedings

Discovery

If your divorce is contested in any way—custody, visitation, child support or division of marital debts and assets—the court will most likely identify the length of the “discovery” period, and set some rules governing discovery. “Discovery” is simply the term that lawyers and judges use for gathering evidence. In the American judicial system, we have the concept of “open discovery.” That means that both sides are entitled to access to all evidence related to the case—one party cannot intentionally hide or fail to disclose relevant evidence. If that happens, there’s a significant chance that the court will rule the evidence to be inadmissible.

Equitable Distribution

Equitable distribution refers to a method for allocating the debts and assets of a marriage. For states that follow equitable distribution principles, property and liabilities are divided equitably, or “fairly.” It’s important to understand that “equitable” does not mean “equal.” The court may consider a wide range of factors. For example, in Pennsylvania, the court can examine, among other factor:

  • The duration of the marriage
  • The age and health of both parties
  • The earning power and sources of income of both parties

Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance is just another term for alimony. It can also be referred to as “spousal support.” Though alimony or spousal maintenance is not as common as it used to be, it is still used in specific situations, including where a spouse may lack the skills to be gainfully employed, or may need time to develop those skills or get the requisite education or training.

Contact Us

At the office of Joanne E. Kleiner & Associates, we have more than 25 years of family law experience. We’ll help you stay focused on what matters. To schedule an appointment with an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney, contact our office online or call us at 215-886-1266.

Jul 26, 2012

Problems that Can Arise in Child Parenting Time

Child parenting time or visitation is the time that a noncustodial parent spends with his or her child. Custody and visitation rights are granted based upon your child’s best interests, and generally the family court prefers minor children to have regular and continuing contact with both parents when possible.

Although Pennsylvania custody laws enable parents to come to reasonable visitation agreements between themselves, the plan must be in the child’s best interests and the parents must agree on it. Problems arise when the parents cannot reach an agreement and, in such a case, the court steps in and develops a child visitation schedule that the parents and child must follow. Situations that can make reaching a child parenting agreement difficult can include:

• Acrimony between the ex-spouses
• The desire of one parent to punish the other
• Disputes over child support payments
• Domestic abuse and/or parental neglect issues

The family court views visitation rights as a privilege, so custody is not automatically awarded. In fact, if the court determines that awarding visitation is not in the child’s best interests, sole custody may be awarded to the other parent. And even if visitation rights are denied, the noncustodial parent is required to pay child support.

However, child parenting plans are not set in stone and can be modified for several reasons. An experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney can help you determine if your circumstances are adequate to request a modification of an existing child custody order.

Consult a Pennsylvania family law attorney

In any divorce proceeding involving minor children it is always prudent to work with an experienced family law attorney. Contact us online or call (215) 886-1266 and schedule a consultation to discuss your child parenting time issue.

Jul 12, 2012

Child Parenting Time (Visitation) Guidelines

The intent of child parenting time is to ensure that both parents may play a significant role in their child’s life. While being a parent is not easy and all parents make mistakes, it is in your child’s best interests to have a good and loving relationship with each parent.

In developing a child parenting (visitation) plan, the following guidelines may be helpful:

• Maintain regular contact between the child and both parents.

• Parents should refrain from physically or verbally attacking the other parent in the presence of their children.

• The custodial parent should ensure the children are prepared for the visitation and available at the mutually agreed-upon time. And the noncustodial parent should return the child at the agreed-upon time.

• Visitation should be allowed outside the child’s primary residence, such as the noncustodial parent’s home or an agreed-upon outing location.

• Parents should refrain from involving romantic partners in their child visitation time. This time is meant to be shared with child and parent, and involving third parties can be confusing and dilute the quality of parenting time.

• Time spent with the noncustodial parent should be as frequent as is practical. Schedules should be flexible enough to allow for changes when necessary, and the other parent should be informed of schedule changes as soon as possible.

• Any schedule established should be adjusted to reflect your child’s age, health and interests as he or she grows.

• Each parent should encourage a good relationship between the child and the other parent, regardless of his or her personal opinion of the ex-spouse.

• Never use your children as bargaining chips, spies or go-betweens with the other parent. The purpose of parenting time is to spend time with your child.

• Both parents should resolve to reach agreement in decisions about their children, especially concerning discipline. And disagreements should never be discussed in your child’s presence.

Talk to a Pennsylvania family law attorney today

Visitation issues can be difficult, but an experienced Pennsylvania family law attorney can help you navigate the process. Contact us online or call (215) 886-1266 to discuss your child parenting matter.