WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO COLLECT PAST DUE SUPPORT?

Your Georgia Child Support Order is a Judgment that you have for money that the obligor owes. In all respects, it is exactly the same as a Judgment you would get against a debtor that owed you money after a successful Lawsuit to collect. That means that you have the right file a Garnishment to get the money from the obligor's paycheck (subject to statutory exemptions), you can record your Judgment as a lien against their real property so that you will get paid before they can sell it, you can seize their bank account in many cases or you could take their car and sell it, among other things.

Your Order is different from an ordinary Judgment in some ways, too. Since Child Support liability typically increases month by month if it is not paid, then each new payment owed is a separate Judgment on the date it becomes due. Also, you have the right to bring a Contempt of Court action and if the obligor wilfully refuses to obey the Court's Order to pay then the Court has the power to order them jailed until they purge themselves of the contempt. They can do that in many ways but most involve payment.

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