Deadbeat parent

Deadbeat dad is a pejorative term (primarily U.S.) that refers to a father who has left his children in the care of their mother but refuses to pay court-ordered child support, or monetary payments meant to go toward the welfare of the children. Many observers blame the complexities of the court system for allowing such occurrences to happen, for it is difficult for a mother to successfully force the father to pay child support, because the father can easily avoid the payments. Such practices have been declared illegal in all fifty U.S. states.

Many U.S. states have passed "deadbeat dad laws" that allows the Department of Motor Vehicles in the state to use its information to find the "deadbeat dad" and call him to account for his actions. Of course, such laws apply to both men and women who owe child support.

According to Fox News:

Non-payment of child support is a significant problem in the United States. According to the Federal Office of Child Support, in 2003, $96 billion in accumulated unpaid support was due to children in the United States; 68 percent of child support cases were in arrears. An overwhelming majority of children, particularly minorities, living in single-parent homes where child support is not paid live in poverty.

Deadbeat Dad can also refer to a father who lives with the rest of his family, but abdicates some, if not all, parental duty.