Locating a Missing Parent for Child Support

“My former husband moved out of state and I haven’t heard from him in a long time. How can I locate him so he can continue making his child support payments?” is a question attorneys are accustomed to. If you have this same issue, or if you’re concerned that your former spouse is planning on leaving Texas, you may be worried that such a move will hinder your ability to collect child support.

If your child’s other parent leaves Texas for some reason and they fail to provide you with their location, your first step will be to locate their new address. If he or she intentionally keeps their address a secret, you can contact the local child support agency and ask for the agency’s parent locator service to assist you.

Uniform Interstate Family Support Act

If a noncustodial parent cannot be located, the good news is that child support agencies have access to a wealth of information that can help locate the parent. For example, child support agencies can typically access a parent’s driving records, criminal record data, unemployment insurance, and employment information. Once the agency locates the noncustodial parent, it can most times start enforcing the existing child support order.

The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) has been adopted by all 50 states. UIFSA was designed to help custodial parents establish and enforce child support orders when more than one state is involved. Under the Act, it would be difficult for a noncustodial parent to evade paying child support by moving to another state because all states are required to enforce child support orders, regardless of the state in which they originated.

If you are having difficulty locating a noncustodial parent or if you are having trouble getting your child’s other parent to pay their court-ordered child support payments, contact Hunt Law Firm, PLLC for professional assistance.