WHAT'S THE LAW?
Lack of child support spurs penalties
Legal Aid Society of Hawaii
Question: A friend of mine said if you owe back child support, the government won't let you get a passport. Is this true? Are there other things they can do or keep you from doing? What if you have a reason for not paying? My wife isn't letting me see my kids, and I know when I send money she spends it on anything except the kids.
Answer: From Tara Shibuya, Legal Aid family attorney: If you owe more than $2,500 in back child support, the Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) can prevent you from getting a new passport or prevent you from renewing an existing one through CSEA's Passport Denial Program.
Other methods of enforcement CSEA exercises include the following: (1) suspending, not renewing, or canceling your driver's license and other professional licenses if you are more than three months behind in child support payments; (2) collecting your Hawaii state income tax refund if you owe more than $25 in child support; (3) collecting your federal tax refund if you owe more than $500; (4) intercepting certain federal payments owed to you, including federal retirement payments, and relocation and travel reimbursements for federal employees; (5) placing liens on all interests in real property you own or acquire; (6) levying your financial accounts (note: All financial institutions in Hawaii will report to CSEA any requested information regarding accounts maintained by noncustodial parents at its institution); and (7) reporting your arrears as a debt to a credit bureau. Child support is for the benefit of the child(ren), and the courts impose this obligation by ordering the noncustodial parent to reimburse the custodial parent for various child(ren)-related expenditures like housing, food, etc.
There is no correlation between child support and visitation. Family Court will not accept "no visitation" as an excuse to not pay child support; likewise, Family Court will not terminate your child support because you are not receiving visitation. If you need to enforce your visitation rights, you should seek relief from the court.
Legal Aid Society of Hawaii operates statewide. Practice areas include housing, public benefits, consumer and family law but not criminal law. For information, call 536-4302. Submit questions by e-mail to
dawalla@lashaw.org or by U.S. mail to Legal Aid Q&A, 924 Bethel St., Honolulu, HI 96813.