Collecting and Paying Child Support

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There are over 40 million parents in this country who are currently involved with a government child support enforcement (CSE) agency, Are you one of them? If so, you are probably frustrated and unhappy with how your case is being handled. Whether or not your local CSE agency operates under the District Attorney's Office, Office of the Attorney General, or through the Department of Health & Human Resources, which are all actually run under the federal government's umbrella of laws.

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What you need to know:

Services Provided by Government CSE Agencies: Establishment of paternity, child support, and medical support orders is the first function.
Welfare Cases & Welfare Reform: Approximately 40 - 50% of all cases currently handled by government CSE agencies involve custodial parents with children on welfare.
Establishment of New Child Support Orders: A noncustodial parent must be personally served with a Summons & Complaint or Petition for child support.
Enforcement of Child Support Orders: Federal law requires all child support payments be made by wage assignment and health insurance by Health Insurance Orders.
Interstate Cases: Often parents reside in different states which can create problems for both parties in a child support case.
Emancipation: Once a child emancipates, child support ceases. However, each state may have a different law regarding exactly when a child emancipates.

Child Support by State

A Few Important Things to Remember

The age of emancipation will vary from state-to-state. This is the age a parent is no longer obligated to pay support.
The visitation/parenting time arrangement often dictates the support order because in many states the number of overnights is considered when determining the amount of child support.
No visitation/parenting time, does not mean you can stop paying child support.
Child support orders should be re-visited and potentially modified through the court every few years.
It is very common for high income families to deviate from the child support guidelines.

Useful Online Tools

Custody Junction^TM - Easily schedule, track and monitor current and future custody, visitation, and support arrangements.
DivorceDesk^TM - Build and manage vital divorce documents and letters online for free!

Child Support Decrease Request Letter - Payor to Payee
Child Support Increase Request Letter - Payee to Payor
Child Support Review Request Letter - Payee
Child Support Review Request Letter - Payor
Child Support Suspension Request Letter - Payor
Paternity Verification Letter - To Father from Mother
Paternity Verification Letter - To Mother from Father

Custody, Visitation & Support Modification

State Specific - Custody/Visitation/Support Modification Forms with Instructions

This software provides all the forms and instructions to modify child custody, visitation and/or child support through the court. The modification software will help you change your court orders to reflect current conditions.

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ENFORCEMENT -- Wage withholding is the primary means of collecting child support. Withholding requires that the employer of the noncustodial parent send a percentage of the payor’s wages to the state or county collection agency, which forwards it to the custodial parent.