It is a crime if a court of competent jurisdiction awards spousal support to one party if the other party tries to leave the state without paying that spousal support award. In other words, if one intends to disobey the court's order, that person can be charged with a crime, arrested, and prosecuted.
So, suppose you're charged with failure to pay spousal support and have a pending criminal appearance.
In that case, you should get a criminal defense attorney who has handled these cases in Los Angeles County and knows how to deal with a Penal Code §270.6 violation. Judges and prosecutors take failing to pay spousal support very seriously and will attempt to put the person in jail, take away their rights to drive a car, and do all sorts of other things to try to make them pay spousal support.
Protection of Children
The policy behind these criminal laws related to spousal support cases is to protect children. They want people who bring children to the world to care for and pay for them. They certainly understand that people get divorced or separated or are never even married in the first place, and they have children.
The bottom line, though, is if you're a parent of a child, you have a responsibility to take care of that child. Both to care for the child and financially. So, any parent has the right to parental rights to the child, but that parent is also responsible for caring for and supporting the child.
The bottom line is that there are always two sides to a story, and sometimes one of the parties – one of the parents – is not being reasonable – has a child and will not let the other person see the child, and of course, they want spousal support. Everybody is entitled to rights – both parties and the child.
The bottom line is as long as you take care of your child, pay spousal support, and are not abusive to anyone, then you certainly have parental rights as it relates to that child, and you can take the other party to court and make sure you assert those parental rights.
But if you don't take care of the child and don't pay for the child – that is, your child through DNA testing or otherwise – then you are going to be held responsible for that. You're going to be ordered to pay it; if you don't and refuse to pay it, then you can be criminally prosecuted.
Develop a Defense Strategy
What I really try to do if you're charged with failure to pay spousal support and they're using Penal Code §270.6 to prosecute you is try to get your side of the story across to the judge because there's always another side to the story, and sometimes the police will only get one version of the story. They don't investigate the other part of the story related to the failure to pay spousal support.
Once we get your version of events and story to the judge, we will determine what you can do regarding this spousal support. Can you pay for it? Can you pay for parts of it? Can you make monthly payments? There's a whole formula that goes into figuring out whether you'll have to pay spousal support – and if you do have to pay spousal support, how much it will be. So, that's what your attorney has to help you help you with.
So, suppose you've failed to pay a spousal support case pending in one of the Los Angeles courthouses. In that case, it's incumbent upon you to get a good lawyer who is local to the courthouse, knows how to deal with these types of cases, knows all the facts and circumstances surrounding your situation with the child and the other parent and can make a solid argument for you to make sure that you're treated fairly and get you out of the criminal justice system as fast as possible.
It's not right that you should look at jail time, fines, probation, and the loss of your driver's license when the case can be handled correctly. You can be made whole again. You can have your parental rights restored if they have been taken away from you. So, make the call today, and we will move this case in the right direction.
If you want more information on Failure To Pay Spousal Support, a free initial consultation is your next best step. You can get the information and legal answers you're looking for by calling (213) 542-0979 today.
