Legal Question in Family Law in Mississippi
withholding visitation
Is it within the legal rights of the custodial parent in the state of Ms. to withhold visitation from the non custodial parent who has not paid child support in over 3 months, and has never paid on a timely or regular basis?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: withholding visitation
No, not legal. The legal theory is that two wrongs don't make a right, even though it may not seem fair that the non-paying parent gets visitation even if they don't pay. If you want to enforce the non-payment issue, you must file a motion for contempt and go back to court. Otherwise, for withholding visitation, you will be in contempt for violating the visitation part of the judge's order. Again, one party's wrong does not justify a wrong by the other party.
Re: withholding visitation
The Child Support Enforcement Division of the Miss. Dept of Health for $25 will pursue collection of the child support for you. The only reason for not using their services is that they may have a huge backlog of cases. If you cannot wait, you can file with DHS and they hire your own attorney and seek reimbursement from the delinquent parent. The DHS attorneys and your private attorney will work together to locate the delinquent's assets and employment while pursuing contempt action in Chancery Court. Regardless, if you know the delinquent's employer, you should immediately serve the employer with a attested copy of the wage withholding order in your case to make it more difficult for the delinquent to get further behind.
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