Mothers can also fail to meet child support obligations

The problem of unpaid child support inspired the rather harsh moniker “deadbeat dad,” which applies to men who fail to maintain their payments. It is not surprising that fathers would be the targets of such labeling; after all, most of the individuals who are required to pay child support are men. But what is surprising is that, regarding percentage, women with support obligations are notably more likely to fall short.

A data expert who works at fivethirtyeight.com crunched some numbers from the Census Bureau and found that in 2011, 32 percent of all custodial fathers received none of the support payments they were due. This is in contrast to the 25 percent of custodial mothers who did not receive the support they had been awarded.

The data expert hypothesized that there are some possible reasons for this discrepancy. For example, often fathers who are granted custody are well situated financially, meaning that they are less likely to pursue missed payments. Additionally, a mother who is not granted custody may have serious personal issues, such as a drug addiction, that makes it more difficult for her to come up with the funds necessary to cover her obligations.

If you are a custodial father who is not receiving support payments from your child’s mother, you may be in a quandary. Of course, you should be getting those payments as they are intended to help take care of your child’s needs. But you may not want to act too aggressively as the delinquent party is the child’s mother.

So, perhaps you could use the counsel of a family law attorney. An experienced attorney understands the complicated dynamics of family situations. The attorney can assess your circumstances and offer you guidance on the best way to pursue getting the payments you are due.