The Missing Parent
Parents who leave their children without paying court-ordered child support or who reach a certain amount of arrearage in payments are colloquially referred to as deadbeat parents. Official terms used to refer to those who don't pay are not so harsh — usually some form of noncompliance.
A Contentious Issue
The term deadbeat is offensive to many, who argue that the term itself is punishment because it leads to the often incorrect assumption that everyone who doesn't pay child support does so out of irresponsibility and lack of caring for their child. They site other reasons for noncompliance, including (but not limited to) the following:
Illness or disability
Loss of employment or a cut in pay or benefits
A return to school in order to keep or advance employment
Support has been used to alienate a child's affection
Support has been used as a weapon for revenge in the hands of a bitter ex-spouse
Support is higher than is reasonable in relation to income
The ex-spouse spends child support on non-child-related expenses
Proponents see the laws concerning child support as just and necessary for the welfare of children. Measures such as garnishing of wages, revocation of driver's licenses, and even prison sentences are seen as punishment for nonpayment and as deterrence.
Father's Rights (
The PI's Role
No matter which side of this issue you stand on, provide the same professionalism as you would any other. If you can't do this, don't take these cases. Refusing a case about which you feel ambivalent won't hurt your income, but accepting one to which you're unable to give your all can't help your integrity and can hurt your reputation.
Police departments don't have the manpower or the time to search indefinitely for parents who leave their spouses and children without paying support. When the trail becomes cold, they must usually direct their efforts toward other cases. At this point, the remaining spouse may contact a PI in order to continue the search.
These cases must be worked with the same diligence as any missing persons case, but they are more difficult. Begin by creating a profile and determining motivation. One reason is that not only does the parent not want to be found, but he also doesn't want any evidence of his workplace or the amount of money he makes to pop up on anyone's radar screen.
The first and best place to start looking for a missing parent is with those who last saw the parent or those with whom the parent will likely stay in touch — his own parents, family members, friends, or adult children. If these people won't talk, they can be kept under surveillance.
