Learn how a family law attorney can help you get the support needed to care for your children.

Any time a couple conceives a child—regardless of whether or not they are married—they are both responsible for that child. However, not everyone lives up to their legal or moral responsibilities regarding their children. This is why the law provides for individuals to be compelled to support their children through child support orders. Here is a brief overview of obtaining and enforcing child support orders.

Obtaining Child Support Orders

In order for a child support order to be obtained, paternity must be established. For married couples, this is automatic. For unmarried couples, it can be done voluntarily by signing a form at the hospital when a child is born or at any time thereafter. Unwed mothers can also petition for paternity to be established without the father’s consent, in which case the court will order genetic testing to prove paternity.

The actual child support order can be enforced on the mother or the father of a child by whichever parent the child is living with. This may be done as part of a divorce proceeding or as its own family law case. A child support order can also be enforced on either parent by action of the state when the child is in state care.

The amount of the child support will be determined based on a variety of factors, including each parent’s income, the custodial time share, and the child’s needs. Parents may make voluntary agreements to cover things like college tuition, but these are often not enforceable by the court.

Enforcing Child Support

Ideally, parents will voluntarily comply with child support orders and send the court-ordered amount to the child’s primary caregiver each month. However, experts estimate that 30 percent of all parents don’t support their kids. When a parent attempts to evade their child support obligations, the local child support agency can take a variety of actions including:

• Withholding wages
• Placing levies on bank accounts
• Intercepting state or federal tax refunds
• Garnishing unemployment, workers’ comp, or state disability benefits
• License suspensions
• Passport denial
• Property levies

Modifying Child Support Orders

Over time, personal circumstances change. One spouse may require more or less support, and the other spouse may be more or less able to pay. For example, if the spouse receiving support gets a new job, the one paying may petition for support to be decreased.

Whether you already have a child support order you want changed, or you need help establishing a new order, family law expert Torrence L. Howell can help.