Arrearages are past due unpaid child support or spousal maintenance support amounts that have already come due and have not been paid. In Arizona, each unpaid support installment can become enforceable as a judgment by operation of law. That means arrears accumulate legal weight over time and can be collected through income withholding, judgment liens, tax intercepts, professional license suspension, passport denial, and contempt proceedings.

Calculating arrears accurately matters. The Clearinghouse does this for you as long as your payments went through them. Credits for direct payments, periods of voluntary support, emancipation dates, modified orders, interest, and offsets can all affect the balance.

If you are owed arrears there are enforcement tools available and they are worth considering.