The child support that you pay aid to your children to be healthy, fed and well cared for. Failure to meet these payments can bring devastating consequences, both for you and for your family. Use this list as a guide, as it will help you stay up to date with their payments of child support.
- You decide the terms: You and the other parent must first decide when and how much you need to pay for a livelihood. This can be done through a court order or through an agreement. Many states have specific rules that you must comply with when determining the amount of child support.
- Keep the contact information in a safe place: If you ever need to change your child support, for any reason, you will need to contact several people. Be sure to have on hand the contact information of the other parent, their family lawyer, the family lawyer of the other parent and of the state administration responsible for the management of payments of child support.
- Set the withholding for child support: Some states allow you to establish withholding for child support. Pursuant to a schedule of deductions, the administration may withdraw automatically the sum of the payments of child support. This ensures that you never miss a payment. If your state does not allow the retention, you can establish a schedule of automatic payment with your bank. Just remember to always have enough money in your account to cover the payments.
- Keep your information up-to-date: make Sure that the other parent, the lawyers involved and the administration of child support to have your contact information up-to-date.
- Modification of your child support: most states allow you to change your payments to reflect your current financial statement. If you have trouble meeting the payments because you lost your job or have to maintain more than one child, you can modify your payments to make things easier.
For more information, see the sections of FindLaw on payment of child support and finances.
Child support: How to obtain the help of an attorney
If you are facing a dispute the potential for the sustenance of children, whether due to a divorce or because he is a single dad, a lawyer specializing in family law can help you with a fair representation of the parties in the process. A lawyer specializing in family law will work to obtain the best possible result in the execution of the support order, in the fulfillment of an order already existing, or in the establishment (or rejection) of the paternity. The first step is to find a lawyer spatialized in family law in your area.
