123Lawyers.com , a leading legal website for consumers and small business owners, today published the first in a four-part series of articles highlighting systemic failures in enforcing collection of court-ordered child support. The series, titled “America’s Child Support Scandal,” appears on the Lawyers.com blog, a top online destination for practical analysis of consumer legal news.

“The failure to pay child support in America is a national disgrace,” said editor-in-chief Larry Bodine, who commissioned the series. “The people being harmed are the most vulnerable and least able to take care of themselves - the millions of children whose best interests were supposed to be served through court-ordered child support payments.”

Written by Jennifer King and Aaron Kase, the series focuses on interviews with two women: Gabrielle, a separated mother of two in Brooklyn, whose ex-husband owes her more than $20,000, and Kendra of Washington state, whose ex-husband owes her $70,000. Both mothers work and take care of their children, leaving little time or money left to pursue their former husbands. The ex-spouses, meanwhile, allegedly receive “under the table” payment for their work and have gotten rid of their physical assets in order to make collection nearly impossible.

59% of custodial parents do not receive some or all of the payments they are owed, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This shocking fact means that there are nearly 3.5 million custodial parents who are not receiving rightfully owed payments to help provide their children with food, shelter, medical expenses and child care. Most parents awarded child support will never see any payments or will be shortchanged, despite numerous government and legal methods designed to collect it.

Typical collection methods such as wage garnishment, interception of tax refunds, liens on property, forced sale of assets, suspension of drivers and professional licenses, and revocation of passports have proven insufficient. As a result, many states have resorted to arresting deadbeat parents in large roundups and maintaining “most wanted” lists.

Efforts to solve the problem in Congress have been stalled in committee. “It’s up to America’s lawyers to step in and find a solution,” Bodine said. “Failures in the existing child support system have a devastating effect on young families everywhere.”

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ, June 30, 2015– Martindale-Hubbell® has introduced a new website feed to complement its popular Ask a Lawyer product, the latest development in the company’s work to provide cutting-edge products for legal professionals across the country.

Ask a Lawyer is a product available to Lawyers.comSM members, allowing attorneys and law firms to respond to questions posed by consumers regarding a full range of legal processes, issues and situations. In addition to providing a means of interacting with potential clients on a personal basis and in a fast and simple manner, Ask a Lawyer gives legal professionals the ability to build their online profiles and boost their visibility.

The new tool Martindale-Hubbell has introduced is designed to easily incorporate the Ask a Lawyer experience into a firm’s website,allowing customers to seek answers from an attorney of their choosing.

"We are very excited about the new Ask a Lawyer website feed," said Neal Skyer, General Manager of Martindale-Hubbell. "We’ve been pleased with the success of Ask a Lawyer, but not surprised, as we believe it provides a simple way for consumers to get information from knowledgeable legal experts. Law firms will benefit from being able to seek out this type of interaction on their own websites, as the new feature creates the opportunity for ongoing conversation and new business."

With a growing number of consumers beginning their search for legal information on the web, tools like the Ask a Lawyer website feed allow law firms to demonstrate their expertise to a large online community of potential clients. Creating an easy opportunity for potential clients to initiate contact also allows firms to focus their marketing efforts on people who are already interested in receiving legal services.

Martindale-Hubbell is committed to leading the way in offering quality solutions and products to help law firms adapt to the fast-paced world of online and mobile marketing. The company has developed thousands of websites over the past decade, and its dedication to innovation and the development of new features like the Ask a Lawyer tool serves as evidence of the role it continues to play for law firms and legal practices worldwide.

To learn more about the company’s website products, visit www.martindalewebsites.com.

About Martindale-Hubbell

Martindale-Hubbell is widely regarded as the leading provider of information and marketing services for lawyers and law firms. Whether you are a solo practitioner, specialized firm or large law organization, its team knows how to enhance your online presence and drive qualified leads. Its web visibility solutions include professional profiles, ratings, websites,pay-per-click ads and social media profiles.