Legal Definitions - nonsupport

Nonsupport is a term used in family law to describe the failure to provide financial support to a person for whom one is legally obliged to provide. This can include a child, spouse, or other dependent.

In most states, nonsupport is considered a crime. It is also known as criminal nonsupport, criminal neglect of family, abandonment of minor children, or abandonment of children.

• A father who fails to pay child support for his children is committing nonsupport.
• A husband who refuses to provide financial support to his wife, despite being legally obligated to do so, is also committing nonsupport.

These examples illustrate how nonsupport can occur in different types of relationships, but in both cases, the person who is legally required to provide support is failing to do so.