The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (January 2014) |
Deadbeat parent is a pejorative term[1] referring to parents who do not fulfill their parental responsibilities, especially when they evade court-ordered child support obligations or custody arrangements. They are also referred to as absentee fathers and mothers. The gender-specific deadbeat father and deadbeat mother are commonly used to refer to people who have parented a child and intentionally fail to pay child support ordered by a family law court or statutory agency such as the Child Maintenance Service.