You keep asking your ex when you can see your children and receive no response, yet a child support payment still leaves your account every month. It is natural to wonder whether you can stop paying until your ex permits visits. Understanding how Arkansas law treats support and visitation may help you determine how to respond.
Blocked visits do not cancel your duty to pay
Your ex’s decision to block visits does not cancel your duty to pay. The Arkansas Supreme Court has held that support and visitation orders are generally not interdependent.
Each missed payment becomes a growing debt, and Arkansas law generally prohibits a court from modifying a support order retroactively, so a court generally cannot erase what you skip. Your ex may then ask the court to enforce the order through contempt proceedings.
You may ask the court to enforce or set your visitation
If your ex is blocking a visitation order, you may ask the court to enforce it. A judge can hold a parent in contempt for willfully withholding visitation. Because a court can enforce only a clear order, written specifics such as days, times and exchange locations strengthen your request. If you do not have a visitation order, you may ask the court to establish one.
Working through the court may protect your time with your kids
Withholding support may feel like leverage, yet it can leave you owing considerably more than you started with. Paying support while you ask the court to enforce or establish your visitation allows you to address both problems without increasing what you owe.
Every family’s situation is different, and your orders, your ex’s actions, and your finances all influence your options. An Arkansas family law attorney can review your orders, explain your options, and help you determine how to protect your time with your children.