Fix Your Child Support Problems Before You Try to Travel This Summer
Time passes more quickly in childhood than you realize; it is hard to believe how old your children already are, and how soon they will be adults, at which point you will have no legal authority to make them spend time with you. When you look at matters from this perspective, you are determined to make every moment count. If you are co-parenting your children with your ex, you are even more aware of the limited number of days you have to spend with your children before they become adults; it says it in the parenting plan. Therefore, an international trip with your children is a peak experience, and you spend vast amounts of time and treasure preparing for it. If your children will be spending most of the summer with your ex, whereas they spend most of the school year with you, then traveling internationally with your friends can give you something to look forward to, and something to remember, to take your mind off how much you miss your children until your parenting time begins again. If you owe overdue child support, this fact could cause trouble in your travel plans. If you owe overdue child support, there is no time to lose before you contact a Boca Raton child support lawyer.
State Department Enforces Decades Old Rule to Suspend Passports of Parents Who Owe Overdue Child Support
A law has been on the books since 1990 that the State Department could rescind your passport or deny your passport application if you owed overdue child support, but until recently, it was rarely enforced. It was one of those “fun fact” laws that allegedly exist, the ones you can read about in trivia books you buy at elementary school book fairs, like the laws against running a vacuum cleaner when a horse-drawn carriage is nearby. This year, though, the State Department began enforcing the law.
Since February 2026, several thousand U.S. citizens who thought they had valid passports have gotten an unpleasant surprise when they tried to travel across international borders. The first people against whom the State Department imposed this rule owed more than $100,000 in overdue child support.
Even if you are so broke that it would take years for $100,000 in child support debt to pile up, the time to address your overdue child support is now, not when you are on the way to the airport. If you can pay your overdue child support in a lump sum, even if it means borrowing a debt consolidation loan, then do it. If you cannot pay your overdue child support, the time is now to petition the court to modify your child support obligations retroactively. A family law attorney can represent you in your efforts.
Contact Schwartz | White About Resolving Your Child Support Debt
A South Florida family law attorney can help you modify your child support order if you cannot pay your overdue child support. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
msn.com/en-us/travel/news/thousands-of-americans-to-be-stripped-of-us-passports-from-may-8-under-newly-enforced-debt-rule/ar-AA22ImLm?ocid=msedgntp&pc=ACTS&cvid=69fe753fc94340e2ad964a08d84a1dcb&ei=31
