Gambling Winnings and Child Support

    Ohio has now implemented an intercept program so that winners at the four casinos in Ohio may trigger data base checks.  If the winner wins $1,200 or more from slot machines, $5,000 or more from table games or $600 or more from high-stakes games, then their name is checked against a data base for child support owed.  If anything is owed, it is taken out of the winnings.  Ohio’s seven racinos, run by the Ohio Lottery, also participates in the program and checks winnings of $600 or more for child support. 
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/22/winners-to-pay-child-support.html

     Apparently, Ohio is not alone in this initiative.  Louisiana has a similar program to collect child support from gambling winnings.
http://www.klfy.com/story/26376451/state-collects-2-million-in-child-support-payments-from-gamblers

    Generally, states take child support seriously and if it is owed, it does not go away.  It is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy and will go against the owing parent’s estate.  This is true even if the child is an adult.   Child support services has a long reach in collecting the money.  They can do anything from garnish wages to intercept tax refunds to suspend licenses issued by the state. 

Child Support Owed to an Incarcerated Parent

    Tracey Richter is serving life in prison in Iowa for the 2001 murder of 20 year old Dustin Wehde.  Richter has been receiving child support arrears payments from her ex-husband, Michael Roberts who began paying back the child support owed after their divorce.  After she had received $2,000 in payments from Roberts, a judge ordered that Richter no longer has any dependents and doesn’t need the money to support herself.  The judge ordered that the funds be garnished and go to pay the $150,000 restitution that Richter owes Wehde’s family.

    Roberts eventually received custody of the their children and moved back to his native Australia.  He still owes approximately $45,000 in child support arrears and $60,000 in property and attorney fees.  This is still owed even if Richter is incarcerated.  Once child support is incurred, then it’s owed and you can’t get rid of the obligation.  It’s non-dischargeable in bankruptcy and becomes a creditor against your estate after your death.  So, just because Richter is in jail for life doesn’t mean that Roberts doesn’t owe the back child support.  The judge made the decision here that the payments that would have gone to Richter because it’s back child support technically owed to her, will go to settle an existing debt she owes, the restitution.

    It also should be noted that Richter currently owes Roberts $20 per month in child support under a separate court order.  This current order doesn’t affect the amount of arrears that Roberts owes since that is already an existing and calculated debt.

http://www.kcci.com/news/judge-child-support-will-go-to-murder-victim-restitution/26416116#!Xc2pS

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2014/06/11/judge-orders-child-support-restitution-tracey-richter/10312483/       

Lottery Winnings and Child Support

In October 2013, Angel R. Tamayo, Jr. presented a winning lottery ticket for $25,000. He has been told that he owes more than the net, after tax value of the lottery winnings ($17,250) in back child support to the Department of Human Services of Georgia. A third party, Tracey Dawn Gibson, also claims she is the rightful winner of the lottery ticket.  Gibson's relationship to Tamayo is unclear.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/25k-ga-lottery-ticket-disputed-money-could-go-to-c/ncy3S/
At least in California, if a custodial parent receives certain types of state assistance (cash aid, etc) which also benefits a child, then the county will automatically open a case against the non-custodial parent for reimbursement to the county for some of the funds used to help support that child.  The reach of child support services is long, they can intercept tax refunds, freeze bank accounts, and, yes, collect lottery winnings from a non-custodial parent to satisfy an unpaid child support obligation.

Demographics of Child Support Collection

According to the U.S. Census, of the $37.9 billion owed in child support, only $14.4 million was paid in 2011. Where the child had contact with the non-custodial parent, the full amount was received 49.1 percent of the cases. Where the child did not have contact with the non-custodial parent, the full amount of child support was only received 30.7 percent of the time. 

Most custodial parents (81.7%) are mothers. According to the Census study, the more contact a child has with the non-custodial parent, the more likely the custodial parent will receive the full amount of child support. Other factors which were found to be associated with a higher likelihood of receiving the full amount of child support, according to the Census study, were the custodial parent having at least a bachelor’s degree (50.6%), being divorced (48.4) and being age 40 or older (48.4). 56.3 percent of parents sharing joint physical or legal custody received/paid the full amount of child support. This was the highest observed rate in the study.

Factors associated with a lower likelihood of receiving the full amount of child support, according to the study, were being under 30 years old (36.6%), having less than a high school education (36.4%) and never having been married (35.1%).

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/children/cb13-191.html