What is Past Due Child Support?
The CSRA federal statute specifically defines a “past due support obligation” as any amount determined by a court order or an order under an established administrative procedure of any state which finds child support due from a person to a child or a person with whom a child is living; and the obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than one year, or is greater than $5,000. 18 U.S.C. 228(d)(1). • What does it mean to be Willful? There is no clear definition of “willful” under the DPPA. However, a good barometer of willfulness may be found under federal criminal tax law. For criminal tax cases, willfulness is a ” knowing and intentional violation of a known legal duty.” Cheek v. United States, 111 S.Ct. 604, 610 (1991). It is important to recognize that willfulness cannot be presumed from non-payment by the defendant alone. The prosecution has burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any failure to pay child support is willful at the time the child support was due to th
