What Women Need To Know About Child Support Law

The high divorce rate in the United States and the fact that significant numbers of women are heading single parent families has made child support an important social issue.

Who has the right to child support?

Under child support law, the right to be supported by both parents rests with the child. The actual payment of support goes to the custodial parent, unless neither parent has custody in which case, both parents will pay their support obligation to a third party.

How is the amount of child support determined?

At one time, the amount of support paid for a child was an issue to be decided between the parties. This is no longer the case. States have set minimum child support guidelines to insure that a child receives adequate support for their daily needs. This is based on the non-custodial parent’s income and the needs of the child. The court also factors in the custodial parents income, medical insurance for the child and childcare costs if the custodial parents needs daycare to work. The family court will deviate from the guidelines in appropriate circumstances.

How is Support Paid?

Most courts require that child support be paid through a wage order to facilitate payment to the custodial parent. Failure to pay support can result in loss of driver’s licenses or other business licenses, income tax refund intercept and in severe cases jail time. Courts also take a dim view of quitting a job to avoid paying support.

Issues for Unmarried Parents

Paternity it is wise to legally establish paternity, fathers can do this voluntarily but if not mothers can sue to establish paternity and the court will require the father to submit to DNA testing. Once paternity is established, the court will order child support in the same fashion as it does in a divorce situation.
Know the father’s complete legal name, his address if he no longer lives with you and addresses of his family and friends.
Know the father’s social security number --- this is important information if you have to resort to the child support enforcement agency to locate the father in order to get support.
Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act -- provides the mechanisms by which a support order issued in one state can by enforced by the courts of another state. The more information you have about the father the easier this will be.

Do You Need a lawyer?

Legal assistance in pursing child support is worthwhile and can streamline the process. Child support enforcement agencies often have a backlog of cases.

Thinking About Divorce?