People often realize that failing to pay child support can lead to many different hardships in life, from those which are financial (tax refund interception, etc.) to being arrested. However, there are a number of other ways that back child support can derail your plans and turn your life on end. For example, you could be unable to obtain a passport if your unpaid child support exceeds a certain amount. It is important to be aware of the different ways in which your life could be upended if you fail to stay caught up on your child support obligations and go over your options in the event that you do fall behind.
Being unable to obtain a passport could interrupt a vacation that you have been planning for years, or it could get in the way of your ability to attend a wedding or another important event. Moreover, it can take quite a while before you regain eligibility to receive a passport, so you should start looking into how you can get caught up if you are going through this at the moment. Payment plans help some parents who owe unpaid child support resolve their obligations, but this may take a while.
If you suspect that you will find yourself behind on child support at some point, it is a good idea to take preventative measures. For example, you could even have the ability to modify your child support order and avoid falling behind on your payments in the first place.