To deal with deadbeat parents, you need to know about your rights first. You are not meant to be treated this way. Read more to find out how you can straighten your parents.
Deadbeat parents are those parents who fails to oblige by the court’s order to provide financial assistance to their child/ children, even after being in a condition to be able to pay. Deadbeat parents willingly choose to not pay for their child’s expenses. This is usually observed in parents who are divorced or among those parents who have adopted the child or those who are not their biological parents.
Having deadbeat parents could be very taxing for a child. It’s this ridiculous feeling of being uncared and unloved. If a parent or parents couldn’t abide by their responsibility of your upbringing, they didn’t really deserve to be parents. It leads to child abuse. No child deserves this and no child should give in.
Note: Deadbeat parents are not the same as those parents who cannot afford or are not in the financial condition to pay for their child’s financial needs.
1. Know Your Right
First step you take is to know your rights. Non-payment of a child’s support is punishable. Under the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998, parents who fail to support their child’s financial needs can be jailed up for a period of 6 months to 2 years and will also have to pay a penalty. However, a parent will not be entitled to imprisonment for the first conviction. This law is applicable to biological as well as adopted children.
2. Ask for Your Right
Get in touch with your parent/ parents and remind them about their obligations towards you. Be normal at first and assess if the payments have not been made willingly or was a mistake or was due to lack of funds. Tell them about your needs.
3. Warn Your Parents
Once you have made that reminder call, it’s time to take some action. But before that, let them know that you are up to something that can put them in trouble. It’s good to warn them as the fear of imprisonment or of the additional penalty can get you money earlier (without even raising a complaint).
4. Collect Proof
You will need to collect some proof indicating that your parent/ parents were capable of paying for your support and that they willfully did not pay. Also, if your parent/ parents have moved out to another place, only to be able to evade the payment for your support, then you will need to prove that too. You can do that by showing the due amount and the last time they got in touch with you. Keep a track.
5. Take a Legal Action
Finally, when you realize that all the reminders and the warnings went futile it is time to file a complaint against your parent/ parents. You are not left with any other option. You have to take a legal action so that you get your right.
I do understand that it could be really difficult for a child to go through all of this just to get his/her basic right, but there is no other way. All children deserve love, affection and importance from their parents. Don’t keep quiet when you know things around you are detrimental to your growth. Your parents are the ones who brought you in this world and it is their utmost duty and responsibility to ensure your well-being.
The above article will help you in knowing what steps you can take to deal with deadbeat parents. If you have a deadbeat dad or mom, trust me they are the one’s who are not fortunate enough to have you and your love.