Bar Admissions Blog
Delinquent Child Support
Q. I'm more than $30,000 in arrears on child support, but it's been hard paying law school tuition and making these monthly payments. How could this affect my bar admission?
A. Greatly. Considering the fundamental duty of parents to care for their own children, your lack of financial support raises serious questions about your moral character.
As an applicant, you must prove that you have the character expected of bar members. If you fail to meet your legal obligations to your own children, will you treat your clients, opposing counsel or courts any better?
Because delinquent child support payments disregard the welfare of children, bar examiners are less tolerant of these debts than most others. Beyond your lack of financial responsibility or adherence to court orders, your arrears also cast doubt upon your integrity and trustworthiness. If the public frowns upon "deadbeat" parents, you can expect licensing boards to do the same.
This is particularly true if you have a long history of non-payment or intentional evasion, have been held in contempt of child support orders, or put other financial obligations above those you owe to your kids. The income generated in the practice of law may benefit them someday. But applicants who place law school tuition or other bills ahead of their children's welfare place their admissions prospects in jeopardy.
To overcome the doubts and meet your burden of proof, you must be prepared to show:
➤ Unforeseen circumstances leaving you unable to pay child support in a timely manner
➤ Documentation of financial hardship which accounts for your arrears – this may include income statements, tax returns, unemployment records, medical bills, or other relevant documents that demonstrate your financial limitations;
➤ A history of open and honest communication with the custodial parent and child support enforcement agency
➤ Proactive steps to address your child support obligations – have you made partial payments or tried to arrange a payment plan?
➤ Efforts to modify the support order based on your current financial circumstances
➤ Attempts to secure other income or funds to catch up on payments
Rather than focus exclusively on delinquencies in child support, you and your bar admissions attorney should present more holistic evidence of your moral character and fitness to practice law. Those who know you best may vouch for your commitment to your children, your respect for familial obligations, your reliability and your trustworthiness. Indeed, if you wish to overcome past payment problems, you must show your arrears to be aberrations and not reflections of your true character.
