Child Support - General

Most people have some awareness that the parent who cares for a child should receive child support from the other parent.

The thing that not everyone knows is that it is really dangerous to guess what the amount should be. Our legislators have set out rules for how to calculate support that fluctuates from person to person based on the amount of income earned and some other factors. So, the amount that a friend is paying/receiving, is likely very different from what you should pay/receive.

Here is the cusp of it -- the law has been interpreted in many, many cases to say that your child has the right to receive child support in the amount set out in the Federal Child Support Guidelines (FCSG) both retroactively and on an ongoing basis. So, if you do not know what the FCSG is, or if the amount that you are paying/receiving is more or less than the FCSG amount, you need to find out.

The consequence of failure to get this right is that a court could order you to pay a large back payment, should it be determined at a later date that you have underpaid. And, for the majority of people, it is far easier to pay the right amount today, than to be hit with a huge liability down the road (a stitch in time saves 9).

To avoid the possibility of a looming and increasing debt arising from a shortfall of child support, find out how to calculate child support under the FCSG, get the amount in a court order and pay it. Also, you need to adjust your payment every year to match your income variations.

Trying to work out child support any other way can lead to big, expensive problems. And for those on the receiving end of too little, it is best for you, your child and the payor to get it right today.

With respect to how to get a child support order, I'm not entirely sure of all of the routes people take to get child support. In my office, I help people who are going through a divorce and people with children out of wedlock. I do the paperwork and take the steps to get child support for my clients. I help gather the information to determine what should be paid.

I think that the 3 other main routes people take to get child support are to figure it out and ask for voluntary payments, to apply to court as a self-represented party, or to have the matter addressed when social assistance is being received. For those who represent themselves, forms and some assistance from trained personnel is available. If you take any of these 3 routes, please take as many steps as you can to get the amount correct. Avoid a headache down the road.