Child & Spousal Support Enforcement Services
Many custodial parents find themselves in a real predicament when their former spouse refuses to pay child or spousal support as ordered by the court. Government agencies are run poorly, private agencies do not employ attorneys, and there is usually no money available to hire a law firm on retainer.
What Are Your Child Support Enforcement Options?
- Bisbee Law Group, PC – If we don’t collect, you don’t pay!
- Department of Child Support Services (DCSS)
- Private Enforcement Agencies
- Private Attorney on Retainer
Bisbee Law Group, P.C.
- No retainer fee. If we don’t collect, you don’t pay!
- Former Deputy District Attorney for Child Support Division.
- Over 10,000 child support matters litigated in Superior Court.
- Dedicated exclusively to child & spousal support enforcement for over 13 years now.
- High rate of success. We won’t quit until your support order is paid!
Understanding the limitations of government and private enforcement agencies, and the cost of hiring an attorney on retainer, Bisbee Law Group has become a leader in the industry, collecting millions in support for custodial parents on a contingency basis. If we don’t collect, you don’t pay! Contact our office today us for a free consultation!
If your case is complicated, if DCSS does not have the resources to give your case the attention it deserves, if you cannot afford a big retainer fee for a private attorney who may not know how to effectively enforce your order, contact Bisbee Law Group for a free consultation. You will speak directly with a child support enforcement attorney who will analyze your case and determine the most effective enforcement remedy to compel payment of support. Here are some of the child support enforcement remedies we utilize.
Enforcement Remedies
- Locate services to find the respondent/obligor
- Income Withholding Orders
- Real property liens
- Liens in probate cases where the non-custodial parent is a beneficiary
- Liens in the non-custodial parents’ probate case
- Liens on life insurance policies
- Liens on business and personal assets
- Levy of bank accounts
- Writ of attachment
- Contempt actions (possible incarceration)
- Judgment debtor examinations
- Subpoenas to obtain financial record
- Writ of sale for real property
The Problems with DCSS:
- “Free” enforcement services are of no value if they do not result in collections.
- DCSS is understaffed, underfunded, unmotivated, and generally ineffective.
- DCSS will not invest the resources necessary to enforce against an obligor who is a contractor or self-employed.
- DCSS will not utilize some of the best enforcement remedies (i.e., civil contempt, liens in probate or against a Trust).
- DCSS will not enforce your spousal support order unless it is in conjunction with a child support order. We specialize in collecting spousal support, especially in complicated cases where earnings and assets are hidden.
- DCSS will not open a case if your children have already emancipated.
It is true. DCSS is understaffed, underfunded, unmotivated, and generally ineffective. They do not have the time or resources to give your case the attention it deserves. My case load as a Deputy District Attorney for DCSS was over 16,000 cases! If the support obligor is a contractor or is self-employed, DCSS will probably not devote the resources necessary to successfully enforce your order.
Another problem is that DCSS will not utilize some of the most effective enforcement remedies, such as civil contempt, or liens against the obligor’s interest in a probate case or a Trust. And, the remedies they do utilize are often wasted (e.g., releasing a driver’s license in exchange for payment of $20). Most custodial parents already know this, which is why you will never see a “Testimonial page” at a DCSS website.
The Problems with Private Enforcement Agencies:
- No attorneys on staff means that they cannot utilize the courts!
- Poor success rate.
- Fee increases – “Bait and Switch”.
The ability of private collection agency to compel payment of support is extremely limited because they do not have attorneys on staff. Without an attorney, they cannot utilize the most effective enforcement remedies because they cannot access the courts.
Private agencies make a lot of phone calls and “bark loudly”, hoping the obligor pays. When they are unsuccessful, they raise your fee and try to hire an attorney to work on contingency for a reduced rate.
We’ve successfully enforced hundreds of child support orders for just about every private agency out there. Having an attorney to enforce your order is essential.
The Problems with a Private Attorney on Retainer:
- Client must pay a large retainer fee up front.
- Client pays whether the attorney collects or not.
- Family law attorneys are usually unfamiliar with child support enforcement law.
Attorneys are expensive. Most attorneys require the client to pay a large retainer fee up front, against which they will bill for their work on an hourly basis. Attorneys are “billing machines.” Most custodial parents do not have that kind of money. Even if they did, this is not a good idea because the attorney will keep your money whether he is successful collecting your order, or not!
Family law attorneys make their living by handling divorce matters and litigating custody and visitation issues. Although family law attorneys should know how to obtain a support judgment and modify it when necessary, they are usually in the dark when it comes to enforcing a child or spousal support order. And, even if they knew what to do, they are simply not willing to do it on a contingency basis.
Ordinarily, contingency cases are reserved for large claims involving personal injury or medical malpractice and there are insurance companies with “deep pockets” who will pay for the damages. Family law orders are not as large and there are no insurance companies to pay the child support order. In fact, most family law matters are so emotionally charged that the obligor would rather die than pay one dollar in child support. It is no easy task to take money from someone (against his will) and give it to his former spouse. As a result, very few attorneys are willing to enforce child or spousal support orders on a contingency basis. It is far too risky and the profit margin is too small.
Services: Private Child & Spousal Support Enforcement. No Money Up Front. Serving Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Los Angeles County, and Ventura County. We enforce California child support orders and spousal support orders anywhere in California, and in many cases, nationwide, under the the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA).
