Child Support 101

In order to start a child support case, you need to go to your county’s Domestic Relations Office.  To qualify for child support, the parents may not live together and your county may require you to have a custody order. 

To start a case, you will need:

Your Social Security number

Your child’s Social Security number
Your child’s birth certificate
Your address
The name and address of your health insurance company (if applicable)
Proof of your income (copies of pay stubs)
A copy of your divorce agreement (if applicable)
The other parent’s full name
The other parent’s current address
The other parent’s Social Security number
The other parent’s birthday
The name and address of his/her employer
The date of your marriage and the date of your separation/divorce (if applicable)

When filing, do not be afraid to ask questions, and make sure to tell the caseworker any relevant information, such as the existence of a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order, or if there has been violence in your relationship. 

Child Custody vs. Child Support

Filing for child support is different than filing for custody of a child.  Filing for custody is done at the county courthouse in the Prothonotary’s office.  Filing for child support is done at the Domestic Relations office, which may or may not be in the courthouse.  A custody order can provide a schedule for time with the child, and provide the parents with a guide about how decisions about the child should be made.  A support order may be based upon a custody order, but it does not change or substitute for a custody order.  A support order is strictly about financial support for the child.

Paternity

Paternity may be an issue for you and your child.  If you are unmarried, paternity needs to be established.  There are two ways to do this.  A mother and father can sign a form called “Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity” or the Domestic Relations office can establish paternity with a court order.  If the man won’t admit he is the father, a petition is filed, and a conference is scheduled.  If, at this conference, he still denies being the father, a genetic test can be ordered.

The Conference

Once you file for support, the Domestic Relations office will schedule a conference.  At this conference, only the two people involved in the case and their attorneys are allowed in the room.  You will need to bring the following:

A copy of your federal income tax return

Proof of your income for the last six months (copies of pay stubs)

The expense form from the Domestic Relations office

Proof of your child care costs (letter from child care provider, copies of cancelled checks)

Proof of medical insurance

You should also be prepared to discuss any special needs your child may have and what costs are associated with them.

Child support amounts are determined by evaluating each parent’s income, the amount of time they spend with the child, and each parent’s debts (mortgage/rent, childcare costs, education cost, health insurance and other bills).

If the person paying child support has other support cases, how the money is distributed depends on the cases.  If the support orders are in the same amount for each case, the payment is split equally.  If the support orders are different, then the payment is spread among the open cases.  More money will go to the case with the highest support order.

Non-Payment

If someone doesn’t pay child support, the support goes into “arrears”, which means that they have overdue payments.  This can be corrected by making extra payments.  In order to ensure payment, the Domestic Relations office has a variety of options to either guarantee payments or punish the non-paying parent.  The county court and the Domestic Relations office can withhold income directly from a person’s paycheck, unemployment, social security disability benefits, or retirement.  The non-paying parent can lose their license (driving-commercial or standard, fishing or hunting license, or professional license).  The court can notify major credit bureaus.  His/her tax refund may be intercepted, as well as any lottery winnings of more than $2500.  The parent can be denied a passport.  The court can also order financial institutions to take financial assets, or place liens on real estate.  The Domestic Relations office can even publish non-paying parents’ names in a newspaper.  The person may also face incarceration.

If the non-paying parent is incarcerated, the Domestic Relations office can make a recommendation, based upon how long the person will be in jail.  If it is a short time, the arrears may continue to accumulate.  If it is a long time, they may recommend that the support order be suspended while the person is incarcerated.