Is Child Support Conditioned on Visitation Rights?
Unfortunately, many parents make several simple mistakes when it comes to the relationship between child support and visitation in Georgia. Many parents mistakenly believe that they don’t have to allow visitation with the other parent if he or she is not paying support as ordered. They also tend to believe that the opposite is true, in that they don’t have to pay child support if they aren’t being allowed to visit the child. Parents also mistakenly believe that being ordered to pay child support also grants them automatic visitation rights. While all of these may be true in some states, they are not the case in the state of Georgia.
Under Georgia law, child support orders and visitation orders are two totally separate things. Having a child support order does not automatically grant a parent visitation rights, and having a visitation order does not automatically require a parent to pay child support. In Georgia, child support payments are not conditioned on visitation rights, and vice versa. In other words, a parent who is not making child support payments may still have rights to visit with the child, and a parent who is having difficulty visiting the child still has an obligation to pay child support. Additionally, if a parent withholds child support payments because he or she is not receiving visitation, the parent who is withholding the support may be subject to a contempt of court action filed by the other parent. The opposite is also true; if a parent withholds visitation because he or she is not receiving child support payments, he or she is also subject to contempt of court for failure to follow a court order.
Shaw Law Firm LLC has handled countless legal proceedings involving all aspects of visitation and child support. We have the knowledge and understanding of these aspects of family law that is necessary to effectively handle these types of cases on behalf of our clients. <Contact us or call today to learn how Shaw Law can work with you to achieve the best outcome possible for you and your children.
Scott Shaw is founder and principle of Shaw Law Firm LLC, founded in 1995 and dedicated solely to divorce, family law and child custody matters that must be addressed and decided in the state of Georgia. Shaw Law Firm serves the greater Metro Atlanta area, particularly the counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding, Henry, Fayette, Coweta, Newton, Walton, Bartow and Douglas. Schedule a consultation today at 770-594-8309.