DEADBEAT PARENTS PUNISHMENT ACT

Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act.A 1998 federal statute that makes it a felony, punishable by

up to two years in prison, for failure to pay child support if the obligor has crossed state lines in an

attempt to  avoid  paying  the  support.  •  The  Act  provides  felony  penalties  if  (1)  a  person  travels

across  state  lines  intending  to  evade  a  child-support  obligation  that  is  over  $5,000  or  that  has

remained  unpaid  longer  than  one  year,  or  (2)  a  person  willfully  fails to  pay  support  for  a  child

living in a different state if that obligation is greater than $10,000 or if it remains unpaid for more

than two years. The Act supersedes the Child Support Recovery Act of 1994. The greatest change

in  the  new  statute  is  the  provision  regarding  the  obligor’s  crossing  of  state  lines  in  an  effort  to

evade  the  support  obligation.  42  USCA  §  228.  —  Abbr.  DPPA.  See  CHILD  SUPPORT

RECOVERY ACT OF1994. [Blacks Law 8th]