A child support order is a type of order from a court directing a parent to pay the other parent a specific amount of money in order to provide financial support for their child or children. A child support order is legally binding, which means that it cannot be avoided.
If a parent who is ordered to pay child support wants to have their order changed, they need to apply to the court for a change. A child support order may be issued either by a state government agency or a state court.
The purpose of child support payments is to help meet a child’s need for:
- Health care;
- Education;
- Housing;
- Food;
- Clothing;
- Other essentials.
Every state has its own formula that courts in the state use to calculate the amount of child support that should be paid for each of the children. This formula will take into account numerous factors, including:
- The child’s living expenses;
- The child’s medical needs;
- The paying parent’s income;
- Other factors.
Of course, if there is more than one child, the support payment will be higher. The amount paid reflects the number of children to be supported.
Eligibility: A parent’s eligibility to receive child support is generally determined by factors such as the parent’s custodial status, the child’s needs, and state legal guidelines. Generally, a parent who has full, or sole, physical custody of a child is eligible to receive child support payments from the non-custodial parent. State laws and court orders dictate the specific criteria and processes for determining eligibility.
If the parents have a shared or joint custody arrangement, a court may order one of the parents to pay child custody to the other if the parents’ respective financial situations are unequal. In other words, if one parent has greater financial resources than the other parent, the court may order the parent with the greater resources to pay child support to the other parent.
What Is a Child Support Payment History?
Both parents of a child or children have a legal duty to provide financial support for their children. A court may order a non-custodial parent to make ongoing payments to cover their children’s living and medical expenses.
Evading child support payments is a very serious charge. The consequences an individual may face for evading child support include:
In these situations, it is important for an individual to be able to provide child support payment records showing evidence of their payments.
How Is Child Support Paid?
When child support is mandated by a court-issued child support order, there will be information regarding how and when the child support must be paid in addition to the amount that must be paid. Child support payments can be made differently in different locations.
In certain states, child support is paid directly to the custodial parent, while in other states, child support payments are made to a state agency. If an individual does not make their child support payments, they will be paid through a garnishment of their wages.
It is important for an individual to follow the specific rules of their child support order when they are making their payments to ensure their payment is made to the correct recipient. An individual may face contempt charges if they made payments to the other parent when they were supposed to make payments to a state agency.
What About Referencing Child Support Payments?
If an individual has any issues surrounding child support payments, their child support payment history can be examined. Major legal issues that may arise include:
- The failure to pay child support;
- Requests by employers who are seeking more information regarding child support payments;
- Any requests for a modification, adjustment, or a cancellation of a child support order;
- Requests for back payments, which refer to any payments missed in the past.
Child support history payments are used when a dispute arises between the parents, and there is a need to verify how much money is owed. For example, one parent may have missed child support payments, and the other parent may be requesting back payments.
In these situations, a court may need to examine the parent’s child support payment history in order to determine the amount that the parent will be required to pay.
Is It Important to Get Proof of Payment?
Assume that an individual was ordered to make child support payments directed to the other parent. In that case, they may request copies of canceled checks from their bank showing that the other parent deposited and received those payments. These canceled checks from the bank can demonstrate that an individual did not pay their child support late if they were deposited in a timely fashion, and the bank can provide the dates the checks were deposited.
If an individual made cash payments, they can provide bank statements that show regular withdrawals of cash. An individual can also pay using a money order if they do not have a bank account.
In those situations, an individual should save the money order receipts as a form of proof they made the payment. It may also be possible to subpoena the other parent’s financial records or bank account information to prove that they made their payments.
Suppose an individual’s payments were deducted from their paycheck using a wage garnishment or other direct payment methods. In that case, they can request information from the human resources department or individual who is in charge of paying the garnishment order. An individual can request a receipt or pay stub when the payments are deducted to show proof of payment.
If an individual pays child support directly to a child support agency, that agency can provide records that show that they have paid. The child support order will indicate the agency that receives the payments, and you can contact the child support assistance division of the agency to ask for a record of all payments.
If there are inaccurate child support payment records, an individual may request canceled checks from their bank or provide receipts from money orders showing they made payments. The individual can then provide that proof to the agency and request that they correct the records.
If there are inaccurate records, you can request canceled checks from your bank or provide receipts from money orders which show that you made the payments. You can then give the proof to the agency and ask them to correct the records.
What Happens if Child Support Is Paid Late?
Technically, child support payments are late if they are not paid on the date that is specified in the court order. In general, however, the receiving parent will not take action if the payment is only a few days late.
Process/Steps:
However, if payments are habitually late or have gone unpaid for several months at a time, the paying parent can expect that the receiving parent will take action to collect the unpaid support payments. This happens when the receiving parent asks the court to enforce the order or if they turn to a government agency for help in enforcing the child support order.
The first thing that the receiving parent should do if child support is frequently paid late or has not been paid for several months is to document the missed payments. They would also want to reach out themselves to the non-paying parent to seek a resolution, or they might want their child custody lawyer to communicate with the non-paying parent.
If informal communication does not resolve the problem, then the receiving parent may send a formal written demand for payment of the amount owed. Or the receiving parent could contact their local child support enforcement agency, usually part of the office of the district or state’s attorney in the county where you live. Or, you may consult an attorney to discuss legal measures you can take.
The receiving parent can file a motion in court to enforce the child support order or a motion for contempt of a court order. The fee to file this motion would be between $50 and $200 depending on the court.
You must then formally deliver copies of the paperwork to the paying parent. This is referred to as “service of process” in legal terminology and is a necessary step. The documents need to be delivered by a sheriff’s deputy or private process server, not handed over by you personally. There is a fee for this.
The receiving parent would need to show the following to the court:
- The parent who was ordered to pay did not pay;
- The amount of money the non-paying parent owes;
- The length of time for which the money has been owed.
The receiving parent would make this showing in a court hearing, when both parents appear before the judge. The receiving parent would present their evidence of missed payments, and the other parent would have a chance to respond.
Specifically, the receiving parent would produce a certified copy of the child support order from the clerk of the court that issued it and a detailed payment history showing every payment that was due and every payment actually received. The difference between the two totals would be the amount that is owed.
The judge can then enter a judgment for the full amount that is owed, set up a payment plan, and impose enforcement measures such as wage garnishment, license suspension, or a finding of contempt with the threat of jail. A court hearing is the only way to get a contempt finding, which makes this means the best choice if a parent is deliberately hiding income or refusing to cooperate with the government enforcement agency.
The court then has a number of different ways it can enforce its order, which may include:
- Declaring that the non-paying parent is in contempt of court;
- Garnishing the wages or other income of the non-paying parent;
- Suspending the non-paying parent’s driver’s license;
- Issuing a lien against the personal or real property of the non-paying parent;
- Freezing the non-paying parent’s bank accounts;
- Reporting the non-paying parent’s debt to credit reporting agencies;
- Sentencing the non-paying parent to jail time until they pay the required child support.
Timelines: You should not wait for a large amount of unpaid support to accumulate. Your state may have a deadline on taking action to collect unpaid support. In addition, it is financially wiser to enforce a support order promptly and not wait until the paying parent is far behind in their payments.
The timeline from the beginning of efforts to enforce a child support order and receipt of the amount owed is going to depend on many different factors. One important factor is the ability and willingness of the paying parent to pay up. They might pay immediately in response to an informal request. Or, they might oppose collection efforts and prolong the process by months. It is impossible to say how long the collection effort would take in any given case.
Costs/Fees: If you open a case with your local government agency that enforces child support orders, there may be no or only minimal cost. If you hire a child support lawyer to represent you in court to enforce your order, the cost may be thousands of dollars depending on how long it takes to collect the child support owed. There are also court costs, as noted above.
The Importance of Hiring a Lawyer: Dealing with enforcement of a child support order and the record of payment and non-payment on your own may be appropriate when the non-payments are minor and easily shown with documentation such as canceled checks or money order receipts.
However, if there is a significant dispute about the amount owed and the paying parent is uncooperative, you then want the help of a child support lawyer. Situations that involve non-payment in contempt of a court order or that require wage garnishment and other legal collection methods also warrant consulting with a qualified attorney.
Where Can You Find the Right Lawyer?
Child support payments are very important, and it is essential to comply with the directions of your court order, whether you are the paying or receiving parent. If you have any legal issues related to your child support payments or you need to request a modification, you should consult with a child support lawyer who can assist you with all of your legal needs.
