What are my options if my ex-spouse stops paying child support?
Your first option concerns who will collect the overdue child support. You can do it yourself, or you can hire someone else to do it, such as a lawyer, collection agency, or social services agency. Changes have been made to the law in recent years to give you easier and more powerful tools to collect overdue amounts. For example, you can have your ex-spouse’s driver’s license suspended, under certain conditions, and you can get the court to issue an order withholding pay from your ex-spouse’s paycheck. Doing it yourself will be the cheapest option. Whether you want to handle it yourself will depend upon the time you have, how hard you believe your ex-spouse will fight the process, whether you ex-spouse lives in Illinois, and whether your ex-spouse has a steady job. One suggestion is to go to your local courthouse and ask them what processes are available to you. If it sounds too difficult or time-consuming, talk to a divorce attorney.
