A Palm City women, Krista Cromwell is said to have been at her wits end and tired of filing contempt action after contempt action against Tyler Archibald of Martin County for not paying his court ordered child support. Well, apparently Ms. Cromwell found a law that has not been used in quite a while that makes willfully not paying child support a felony! Tyler Archibald plead no contest, received five years probation, he was ordered to pay $550.00 per week and has to pay off his arrears totaling $69,542.88 within the next five years. In addition, he was ordered to pay $415.00 in court costs and must complete 25 hours of community service every month. This rarely used law is for "willful failure to provide dependent support" while allegedly having ability to pay. The moral of the story is do not ignore your child support obligation. If you find you are unable to pay seek a modification of your current support order. If you have other children from a current relationship you maybe able to obtain a hardship deduction for natural children that live with you.
For assistance from a quality Orange County Custody Attorney who is certified as a family law specialist call 714-971-8000.
