Editing Child support (section)

==Obtaining child support==
Child-support [[law]]s and regulations vary around the world. Legal intervention is not mandatory: some parents have informal or voluntary agreements or arrangements that do not involve the courts, where financial child support and/or other expenses are provided to the other parent to assist in supporting their child(ren).<ref>[http://www.facsia.gov.au/guides_acts/fag/faguide-1/faguide-1.1/faguide-1.1.m/pc_13722.html 1.1.M.15 Maintenance agreement (FTB)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916091704/http://www.facsia.gov.au/guides_acts/fag/faguide-1/faguide-1.1/faguide-1.1.m/pc_13722.html |date=2007-09-16 }} Family Assistance Guide, Australia</ref><ref>[https://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/p60-212.pdf Child support for custodial mothers and fathers] United States Census Bureau 2000</ref><ref>[http://justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/02/childsum/childsum_5.html Child Support Initiative: Final Evaluation Summary, Recommendations and Management Response] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529043140/http://justice.gc.ca/en/ps/eval/reports/02/childsum/childsum_5.html |date=2008-05-29 }} Canada Department of Justice, October 2002</ref> A voluntary maintenance arrangement can in certain jurisdictions be approved by judicial authorities.

A major impetus to collection of child support in many places is recovery of welfare expenditure. A resident or custodial parent receiving public assistance, as in the United States,<ref>[http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927215503/http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa |date=September 27, 2006 }}</ref> is required to assign their right to child support to the Department of Welfare before cash assistance is received. Another common requirement of welfare benefits in some jurisdictions is that a custodial parent must pursue child support from the non-custodial parent.

===Court procedures===
In divorce cases, child-support payments may be determined as part of the [[divorce settlement]], along with other issues, such as alimony, custody and visitation. In other cases, there are several steps that must be undertaken to receive court-ordered child support. Some parents anticipating that they will receive child support may hire lawyers to oversee their child support cases for them; others may file their own applications in their local courthouses.

While procedures vary by jurisdiction, the process of filing a motion for court ordered child support typically has several basic steps.

# One parent, or their attorney, must file an application or complaint with the local court for the establishment of child support. The information required varies by jurisdiction, but generally collects identifying data about both parents and the child(ren) involved in the case, including their names, social security or tax identification numbers and dates of birth. Parents may also be required to furnish details relating to their marriage and divorce, if applicable, as well as documents certifying the identity and parentage of the child(ren). Local jurisdictions may charge fees for filing such applications, however, if the filing parent is receiving any sort of public assistance, these fees may be waived.<ref>[http://www.in.gov/dcs/support/client/faq.html Department of Child Services] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014024532/http://in.gov/dcs/support/client/faq.html |date=2007-10-14 }} Indiana, USA</ref><ref name="Subordinate Court of Singapore">{{cite web|title=Subordinate Courts of Singapore - Maintenance|url=https://app.subcourts.gov.sg/family/page.aspx?pageid=3771|publisher=State Courts|access-date=22 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010084555/http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/family/page.aspx?pageid=3771|archive-date=10 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="Applying for child support">[http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/custodians/applying/applying-cs/ Applying for child support] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507073640/http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/custodians/applying/applying-cs/ |date=2008-05-07 }} New Zealand Inland Revenue</ref><ref name="Getting a maintenance order">[http://www.westerncape.gov.za/eng/directories/services/11575/17463 Getting a maintenance order] Western Cape Information Service, South Africa</ref>
# The other parent is located, and served a court summons by a local sheriff, police officer, bailiff or process server. The summons informs the other parent that they are being sued for child support. Once served, the other parent must attend a mandatory court hearing to determine if they are responsible for child-support payments.<ref name="Subordinate Court of Singapore"/><ref name="Applying for child support"/>
# In cases where parentage of a child is denied, has not been established by marriage or is not listed on the birth certificate, or where [[paternity fraud]] is suspected, courts may order or require establishment of paternity. Paternity may be established voluntarily if the father signs an [[affidavit]] or may be proven through [[DNA testing]] in contested cases. Once the identity of the father is confirmed through DNA testing, the child's birth certificate may be amended to include the father's name.<ref name="unescap.org"/><ref name="Chapter 8 - Paternity Establishment"/><ref name="Getting a maintenance order"/><ref>[http://laws.bahamas.gov.bs/statutes/statute_CHAPTER_130.html Chapter 130: Status of Children; Arrangement of Sections] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011232132/http://laws.bahamas.gov.bs/statutes/statute_CHAPTER_130.html |date=2007-10-11 }} Commonwealth of Bahamas</ref><ref>[http://www.cse.ri.gov/services/establishment_paternity.php Establishment of Paternity] Rhode Island Office of Child Support Services</ref>
# After the responsibility for child support is established and questions of paternity have been answered to the court's satisfaction, the court will notify the obligor and order that parent to make timely child support payments, fees (which may be 0, $60,<ref>[https://www.azdes.gov/main.aspx?menu=24&id=2296]$60</ref> or more) and establish any other provisions, such as medical orders. Generally the father<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.azdes.gov/main.aspx?menu=24&id=2296|title=Fees for Services - Arizona Department of Economic Security|website=www.azdes.gov|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Integrated Child Support Services A Division of the South Carolina Department of Social Services Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://www.state.sc.us/dss/csed/faqs.htm|work=state.sc.us|publisher=South Carolina Department of Social Services|access-date=22 March 2014}}</ref> will be required to pay for genetic testing.

===Calculating the amount===
Various approaches to calculating the amount of child-support award payments exist. Many jurisdictions consider multiple sources of information when determining support, taking into account the income of the parents, the number and ages of children living in the home, basic living expenses and school fees.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Establishment of Child Support Orders for Low Income Non-custodial Parents|url=https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-05-99-00390.pdf|website=Department of Health and Human Services|access-date=31 May 2017|date=Jul 2000}}</ref> If the child has special needs, such as treatment for a serious illness or disability, these costs may also be taken into consideration.<ref name="Getting a maintenance order"/><ref name="supreme.state.az.us">[http://www.supreme.state.az.us/dr/Text/CSMod.htm Things you should know about child support in Arizona] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012190911/http://www.supreme.state.az.us/dr/Text/CSMod.htm |date=2007-10-12 }} Supreme Court of Arizona, USA</ref><ref>[http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/family/page.aspx?pageid=3771 Maintenance calculation, Subordinate Court of Singapore] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101085100/http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/family/page.aspx?pageid=3771 |date=2007-11-01 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/sup/pub/guide/q_a.html The federal child support guidelines step by step] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130035805/http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/sup/pub/guide/q_a.html |date=2007-11-30 }} Canada Department of Justice</ref>

Guidelines for support orders may be based on laws that require obligors to pay a flat percentage of their annual income toward their children's expenses. Often two approaches are combined. In the United Kingdom, for instance, there are four basic rates of child support based on the obligors' income, which are then modified and adjusted based on several factors.<ref name="Child support fact sheet"/><ref name=Arkansas/><ref>[http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/paying-parents/workout-payments/how-much/ Formula Assessment of support payments] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005063756/http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/paying-parents/workout-payments/how-much/ |date=2007-10-05 }} New Zealand Inland Revenue</ref> In the United States, the federal government requires all states to have guideline calculations. Guidelines are either a percentage of income or more usually in the form of tables listing incomes and the amount needed to support one to six children. These computations are often performed by computer programs upon input of certain financial information including, earnings, visitation (overnights with the non-custodial parent (NCP)), health insurance costs, and several other factors.

If tables are used in the guidelines those tables are computed by economists such as Policy Studies, Inc.<ref>{{cite web|title=Arizona Child Support Guidelines|url=http://www.azcourts.gov/familylaw/arizonachildsupportguidelines.aspx|work=azcourts.gov|publisher=Arizona Judicial Branch|access-date=25 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226140701/http://www.azcourts.gov/familylaw/arizonachildsupportguidelines.aspx|archive-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> They examine spending patterns of couples without children and couples with children in the consumer expenditure survey.<ref>{{cite web|last=Policy Studies Inc.|title=Economic Basis for Updated Child Support Schedule|url=http://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/31/Child%20Support/psi1.pdf|work=azcourts.gov|publisher=State of Arizona|access-date=22 March 2014|page=2|date=6 February 2003}}</ref> The amount of additional money spent on the children (for expenses such as automobile insurance; AP exams; cell phones and plans; Christmas presents; educational expenses (trips, pictures, study guides, tutoring, AP and SAT exams, books, supplies, and uniforms); laptops; music lessons; parking fees; private school tuition; sports activities; and summer camps is computed and reduced to a table. Separating parents then find their incomes in the table and how much average intact families pay on children. In the widely used income shares model that amount is divided in proportion to the parents income.<ref>{{cite web|title=Child Support Guidelines Worksheet|url=http://www.courts.state.va.us/forms/district/dc637.pdf|work=va.us|publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia|access-date=22 March 2014}}</ref>

===Change of circumstances===
Once established, child-support orders typically remain static unless otherwise reviewed. Obligors and obligees reserve the right to request a court review for modification (typically six months to one year or more after the issuance of the order or if the circumstances have changed such that the child support would change significantly). For instance, if the obligor has a change in income or faces financial hardship, they may petition the court for a reduction in support payments. Examples of financial hardship include supporting other children, unemployment, extraordinary healthcare expenses, etc. Likewise, if the obligor is spending more time with the child, they may petition the court for a reduction or even a reversal in support payments. Conversely, if the child's expenses increase, the obligee may ask the court to increase payments to cover the new costs<ref name="child support">{{citation|title=Child Support Lawyer Orange County|url=http://www.bayatilaw.com/practice-areas/orange-county-child-support-lawyer|access-date=March 22, 2014|year=2014|publisher=Child Support Orange County|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325115719/http://www.bayatilaw.com/practice-areas/orange-county-child-support-lawyer|archive-date=March 25, 2014}}</ref>

Although both parents have the right to petition the court for a support order adjustment, modifications are not automatic, and a judge may decide not to alter the amount of support after hearing the facts of the case. That is to say, simply because an obligors's income has decreased, a court may find that the decrease in income is of no fault of the child, and will not decrease the child's expenses, and therefore should not affect him or her financially. Likewise, a court may find that an increase in the child's expenses may have been calculated by the receiving parent and is not necessary, and therefore the support obligation of the paying parent should not increase.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="supreme.state.az.us"/><ref>[ld+Support+Services&L3=Manage+Your+Case&sid=Ador&b=terminalcontent&f=cse_parents_reqrev_intruc&csid=Ador Modify your court order] Department of Revenue, Massachusetts</ref><ref>[http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/paying-parents/circ-change/contact/ When to contact Child Support] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430135958/http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/paying-parents/circ-change/contact/ |date=2008-04-30 }} New Zealand Inland Revenue</ref>

In United States law, the [[Bradley Amendment]] (1986, {{USC|42|666(a)(9)(c)}}) requires state courts to prohibit retroactive reduction of child-support obligations. Specifically, it:

* automatically triggers a non-expiring lien whenever child support becomes past-due.
* overrides any state's statute of limitations.
* disallows any judicial discretion, even from bankruptcy judges.
* requires that the payment amounts be maintained without regard for the physical capability of the person owing child support (the obligor) to promptly document changed circumstances or regard for his awareness of the need to make the notification.

===Distribution and payment===
Child-support payments are distributed in a variety of ways. In cases where an obligor is liable for specific expenses such as school tuition, they may pay them directly instead of through the obligee.<ref name="Child support agreement"/>

In some jurisdictions,<ref name="support">{{cite book|author=Joseph B. Downs|title=Child Support in Orange County|url=http://familylawoc.com/practice-areas/child-support/|access-date=25 March 2014|date=March 2014|publisher=Family Law OC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325211127/http://familylawoc.com/practice-areas/child-support/|archive-date=25 March 2014}}</ref> obligors (paying parents) are required to remit their payments to the governing federal or state child-support enforcement agency ([[State Disbursement Unit]]). The payments are recorded, any portion required to reimburse the government is subtracted, and then the remainder is passed on to the obligee (receiving parent), either through direct deposit or checks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jfs.ohio.gov/Ocs/employers/cspc.stm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231013543/http://jfs.ohio.gov/Ocs/employers/cspc.stm|url-status=dead|title=State of Ohio Office of Child Support|archive-date=December 31, 2007}}</ref><ref>[http://hawaii.gov/ag/csea/main/cs_payment_options/ Child support payment options] Hawaii Attorney General</ref><ref>[http://www.csa.gov.au/payee/payment-options.aspx Payment options] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610075433/http://www.csa.gov.au/payee/payment-options.aspx |date=2008-06-10 }} Child Support Agency Australia</ref><ref>[http://www.westerncape.gov.za/eng/directories/services/11575/17467 Enforcing a maintenance order] Western Cape Information Service, South Africa</ref>

The first payee for child support depends on the current welfare status of the payee. For example, if the obligee is currently receiving a monthly check from the government, all current support collected during said month is paid to the government to reimburse the monies paid to the obligee. Regarding families formerly on assistance, current support is paid to the family first, and only after said support is received, the government may then collect additional payments to reimburse itself for previously paid assistance to the obligee (receiving parent). See 42 USC 657: "(A) Current Support Payments: To the extent that the amount so collected does not exceed the amount required to be paid to the family for the month in which collected, the State shall distribute the amount so collected to the family.".<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/657- § 657. Distribution of collected support] Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act</ref>

Within the United States, a 2007 study conducted through the University of Baltimore estimates that 50% of all child-support arrears are owed to the government to reimburse welfare expenses. Half of U.S. states pass along none of the child support they collect to low-income families receiving welfare and other assistance, instead reimbursing themselves and the federal government. Most of the rest only pass along $50.00 per month. The bipartisan 2006 Deficit Reduction Act and other measures have sought to reduce the amount of money claimed by the government and to ensure that more funds are accessible by children and families, noting that more obligors (paying parents) are willing to pay child support when their children directly benefit from payments.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mothers Scrimp as States Take Child Support |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=2007-12-04 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/us/01child.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin |author=Erik Eckholm | date=2007-12-01}}</ref>

Most U.S. states deliver child-support benefits through [[direct deposit]], but many states make payments to [[unbanked|recipients who do not have a bank account]] through a [[prepaid debit card]]. State use of prepaid cards has helped increase the popularity of federal benefit debit cards, such as the Direct Express Debit [[MasterCard]] [[prepaid debit card]] offered by [[MasterCard]], [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], Chase,<ref>{{cite web|title=Child Support Debit Card (NC Kids Card) Frequently Asked Questions|url=http://www.ncchildsupport.com/DebitCardFAQ.pdf|work=ncchildsupport.com|publisher=North Carolina Dept of Health and Human Services|access-date=22 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611184017/http://www.ncchildsupport.com/DebitCardFAQ.pdf|archive-date=11 June 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Comerica Bank]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2014}}

===Duration of support orders===
The duration of support orders varies both by jurisdiction and by case. Requirements for support typically end when the child reaches the [[age of majority]], which may range in age from 16<ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2001/20010157.htm Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 157 The Child Support (Maintenance Calculation Procedure) Regulations 2000] United Kingdom</ref> to 23 (Massachusetts and Hawaii)<ref name="justice.gov.ab.ca">{{cite web|url=http://www.justice.gov.ab.ca/mep/creditor_info.aspx?id=4457|title=Alberta Justice|website=www.justice.gov.ab.ca|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="app.subcourts.gov.sg">[http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/family/faq.aspx?pageid=3703#] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622120656/http://app.subcourts.gov.sg/family/faq.aspx?pageid=3703|date=2007-06-22}} Subordinate Court of Singapore</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/background/ |title=Child support - What is child support |access-date=2007-10-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027124927/http://www.ird.govt.nz/childsupport/background/ |archive-date=2007-10-27 }} New Zealand Inland Revenue</ref> or graduates from high school. Some countries and states have provisions that allow support to continue past the age of majority if the child is enrolled as a full-time, degree-seeking post-secondary student.<ref name="justice.gov.ab.ca"/><ref name="app.subcourts.gov.sg"/><ref>[http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/educate.htm Termination of Child Support and Support Beyond Majority] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20090718015040/http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/educate.htm |date=2009-07-18 }} National Conference of State Legislatures, USA</ref> If the obligor owes back child support, they must continue to make payments until the debt is satisfied, regardless of the age of the child.

Several circumstances allow for the termination of a support order for a child under the age of majority. These include the child's marriage, legal emancipation or death.<ref>[http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/FA/content/htm/fa.005.00.000154.00.htm Family Code: Chapter 154. Child Support. Subchapter A. Court-Ordered Child Support] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018054718/http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/docs/FA/content/htm/fa.005.00.000154.00.htm |date=2007-10-18 }} State of Texas USA</ref><ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1992/Uksi_19921813_en_3.htm#mdiv7 Statutory Instrument 1992 No. 1813: The Child Support (Maintenance Assessment Procedure) Applications for a Maintenance Assessment] United Kingdom</ref>