Southeastern Conference (SEC) football has a special allure all across the South. And one of the featured spectacles of the best college football league evah, is the Iron Bowl, the yearly grudge match between the University of Alabama and Auburn University.
In recent years, as both teams have been national contenders, the Iron Bowl has taken on even greater significance than the "holy war" that it has been declared historically.
One sherif's department in Lee County, Alabama, which borders Georgia, and is only about an hour drive out from metro-Atlanta, has decided to use the power of Iron Bowl tickets to track down "deadbeat parents" and lure them in, reports Opelika-Auburn News.
The operation, which was called "Iron Snare" targeted those deadbeat parents who owed at least $30,000, and up to $75,000, in child support payments. A letter was sent to 140 such parents, promising them tickets to the Iron Bowl, but when a dozen of them came to claim the tickets they were arrested.
The sucessful operation of Iron Snare seems to be a much cheaper and much more thought-out way of tracking down deadbeat parents than launching massive manhunts for just one person.
Whether you are a "non-custodial" mom or dad, paying ordered child support is mandatory. And as this episode clearly shows, will be strictly enforced by the state authorities. In fact, the federal government gives financial incentives to those states that collect child support, which is going to make state law enforcement even more likely to chase deadbeat parents.
Countless non-custodial parents get behind on child support payments and never catch up, thinking that they can just "let it ride." This is not a good idea. Many times deadbeat parents stop paying because they are too poor or they don't have a job. In those cases, rather than sitting at home scoping the scene for free football tickets, they should seek out a competent attorney and file a child support modification petition.
Even if they can't afford a lawyer they can file a "pro se" petition in their own words. Courts will then give them a hearing date at which point they can present their financial troubles. The most important element in a modification petition is if there is "a substantial change in your circumstances." It also helps if you talk to the other parent beforehand.
Related Resources:
- Find an Atlanta Family Law attorney (FindLaw)
- Child Support Modification Tips (FindLaw)
- The Existing Child Support Order Seems Unfair (FindLaw)
- Child Support - Substantial Change in Circumstances (FindLaw)
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