The Department of Health and Human Services had to assist in 15.9 million child support cases in 2010, according to the HHS website. Not only do cases of child support arrears make it difficult on the supporting spouse to raise the child, the person in arrears may damage his credit rating. Thus, if you have court-ordered child support payments, you should do whatever it takes to satisfy them.
Identification
Paying child support does not raise your credit score, but it also prevents child support arrears from damaging your credit rating. If you stop paying child support for more than 180 days or owe more than $1,000, your state department of social services usually reports the debt to the national credit reporting agencies. A delinquent account can damage your credit rating by 100 points or more, and child support court judgments stay on your report for seven years.
Considerations
Voluntarily paying child support means your creditors are less likely to deny you credit. Creditors periodically check your credit report to ensure you are still creditworthy. Delinquent child support could cause the lender to lower your credit limit or close your account. A court judgment could result in a wage garnishment which makes it harder to pay your bills or could cause you to default on your loans.
Child Support Collection Account
Delinquent child support debt sent to a collection agency can come off your report much sooner than a civil judgment. If you ignore a child support collection account, it stays on your report for seven years, but if you pay it off the credit bureaus must remove it from your credit history immediately, according to LegalMatch.
Tip
If you cannot afford your child support payments, contact your state's child support enforcement unit about modifying your payments or working out an installment agreement. You can also go to the judge handling your case and ask him to lower your monthly payment if you have a good reason, such as the judge set the payment too high for your income.
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