Not Paying Child Support? You Could Lose Your Professional License

Getting a professional license can be difficult. There are tests to study for and classes to take. While getting approved for a license can be challenging, so can keeping your license. Even if you are on your best behavior while working, you can potentially put your license at risk for what you fail to do outside of the workplace.

One thing that can cause you to lose your license is failure to pay child support. If you have children under the age of 18 and do not have custody of them, then you may have to pay child support. Child support is based on income and while many licensed professionals make six-figure incomes, many fail to adequately support their children.

Each state is different when it comes to when exactly the license loss will occur. Many wait until the child support has been in arrears for 2-6 months. In Florida, the license revocation process begins when all other forms of enforcement have been exhausted. This means that the state will attempt other methods to get the person to pay up.

For example, the state may send notices to the person’s employer asking them to withhold, or garnish, wages. They may revoke the person’s driver’s license or intercept tax refunds and any lottery winnings. They may also schedule a meeting with the person to discuss a way for them to repay the child support they owe. In severe cases, the state may take legal action and order the person to go to jail until the full amount is paid.

If the person does not comply with these requests for child support, their professional license could be revoked under Florida Statutes Section 61.13015. Typically, the person has 30 days after the second notice to comply or their license would be suspended. This means that the person will no longer be able to work in their field, whether they are a nurse, dentist, psychologist, veterinarian, certified public accountant, architect, engineer, mortgage broker or other licensed professional. If a person has applied for a license, it could be denied.

The purpose of this is to promote public policy. All children have the right to be properly cared for. When a parent does not pay child support, it can affect the child’s upbringing. It can be difficult for the custodial parent to pay for the child’s expenses when the other parent does not contribute financially.

Keep Your License With Help From a Tampa Administrative & Professional Licensing Lawyer

What you do—or don’t do—outside of the workplace can have a detrimental effect on your professional license. Not tending to your financial obligations can cause you to lose your license. Don’t risk this.

For many jobs, you need a professional license. Therefore, you must fight to keep it. The Law Offices of David P. Rankin, P.A. can help. With more than 30 years of experience helping Florida licensed professionals keep their licenses, he is poised to help you with your case. To schedule a consultation, fill out the online form or call (813) 968-6633.

Resource:

ncsl.org/research/human-services/license-restrictions-for-failure-to-pay-child-support.aspx