I oweI owe $3900 chil support. I had court a year ago and was told not to come back. Now I just paid $500.00

If you are held in contempt of court for failure to pay child support, the judge has the full range of options for penalizing you, including putting you in jail for up to one year.  However, since that would be for civil contempt, unlike a criminal offense, you can purge the contempt at any time by satisfying the requirements of the court order, that is paying the arrears on the support, and then they would let you go.  You have a legal obligation to support your children.  You have no legal obligation to support your godparents, so while you may want to help them out, you may not be able to, if it means being unable to pay your child support.  Judges do not hesitate to throw people in jail for failing to pay child support, so you should take this very seriously.  If you are choosing to spend your child support money on people other than your children, the judge will probably come down pretty hard on you. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.