When a couple is almost through a divorce and child custody issues have been resolved, there is the other matter of child support. In some situations, when one parent is granted primary custody, the other parent will likely be ordered to pay child support to help the custodial parent financially.

But what happens when a parent is not able to make a child support payment? Because a child support agreement is a court order, the court can impose a penalty on the delinquent parent until the payments are made. Just recently, the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling about whether parents should be afforded representation if accused of failure to pay child support.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided that a parent accused of failure to pay child support is not automatically entitled to representation by a court-appointed lawyer. However, the court did rule that states must be able to ensure the accused parent is able to comply financially with the support order.

The case went before the Court after a man was jailed for failure to pay child support. The man, who was sentenced to one year in jail, had told the judge in the case that he had broken his back and was unable to work. The Supreme Court sided with the man, saying that the judge in the case should have taken into account the situation that affected the man's ability to pay.

Ability to pay is a significant issue that requires a determination of the financial position of the defendant before any punishment for non-payment of support is determined. When a parent's financial situation changes because of a job loss or unexpected medical condition, the parent can seek a child support agreement modification.

Source: ABA Journal online, "Supreme Court Finds No Automatic Right to Counsel in Child Support Contempt Proceedings," Debra Cassens Weiss, 20 June 2011