Pursuant to Arizona Revised Statute Section 25-504, an Arizona court may issue a wage assignment or garnish the wages of a parent who has not paid child support in a timely fashion, and states that non-payment of child support in Arizona is a class 6 felony punishable by law. 

And finally, according to Arizona Revised Statute 25-516, a parent who is owed more than two months of child support payments may legally obtain a lien against any property owned by the delinquent parent, and that lien may be secured through the filing of a lien notice through the county records office anywhere in the state of Arizona. 

Because Arizona Revised Statutes tell us that every parent has a "legal obligation to provide financial support for his or her own children," it is easy to understand how some parents — especially those who are unemployed or those who are self-employed — may find it difficult to keep up with child support payments, and may fall behind when out of work or when there is not enough work. 

If you are an unwed mother seeking any form of child support from the child's father, you will first have to establish that the child, or children, in question are legally the child(ren) of the person from whom you are seeking child support — that's because the state of Arizona cannot issue a child support order against that child's parent unless and until paternity has been established by law. 

And, the establishment of paternity must occur prior to any court proceedings that would determine child custody or child support when the parent of the children in question are not married and have never been married. In these instances, where child support is in question, paternity can be established by way of a voluntary acknowledgement, or by the family court of Arizona finding that the unwed father is, in fact the biological father by administering a paternity test, which establishes through DNA evidence that he is the child's father.

Get the Modifications You Need in Spousal and Child Support to Keep from Being Charged with Contempt 

It is most often the case that ex-spouses unable to keep up to date with child support payments will find themselves to be in contempt for nonpayment of spousal or child support, so it makes the most sense to see if you can get the judge in your case to make modifications to these payments to ensure that you are not found in contempt in the first place.

At the Barreda Law Firm, we will help put together a support modification based on any changes in your particular case, such as:

• The spouse who is receiving the support is now living with a new person 
• The spouse receiving the support is now able to go back to work 
• The spouse paying the support is no longer working or is no longer able to work 
• The spouse who is paying the support has become ill or has become disabled 
• The spouse paying the support has experienced a natural disaster or another type of emergency situation

To effectively plead your reasoning for support modifications, it is important to have a child support lawyer to build a solid case and represent you to the courts.