Establishing and Collecting Child Support

Child support is a primary issue in both divorce matters and paternity matters where the parents of children are not married to each other. In all states, parents have an obligation to support their children.

Child support is based upon the incomes of the parents, the number of children and whether either party has a prior court ordered support obligation. Each state has formulated Child Support Guidelines to facilitate the calculation of child support amounts. Two of the most important factors are the incomes of the parents and the number of children.

In Massachusetts, child support in a divorce matter commences upon separation of the parents if the divorce is uncontested or by temporary orders after a complaint for divorce has been filed. It is presumed that both parents have been supporting their children while the marriage was intact.

However, child support in a paternity matter differs in most important ways. Massachusetts statute provides that, if a party requests, the court shall order past support from the date of the child's birth to the date of the order. The court will consider the parent's ability to pay and any support paid by the parent during this period.

The other important aspect of child support in a paternity matter is that the issue of health insurance for the child. The will determine whether the child support obligor has health insurance or other health coverage available to him through an employer or organization or has health insurance or other health coverage available to him at reasonable cost that may be extended to cover the child for whom support is ordered. If so, the court will then include in the support judgment or order that the obligor provide such health insurance or health coverage for the child.

What may sound like the simplest of tasks is actually a very complicated matter rife with pitfalls for the inexperienced. Let us use our vast experience in family law to ensure that all factors and mitigating circumstances are considered and that your support order is properly calculated.

A common question asked of us is: "How do you collect support from a missing parent?" The good news is that it has become enormously easier to find a missing person who owes child support. The government has a Parent Locator Service which is accessible very inexpensively through each state's Child Support Enforcement Office. This service is a comprehensive computerized network that has access to limitless records of agencies on the federal, state and local levels. Included in this network is the IRS, Social Security Administration, Defense Department, Veterans Administration, among many others. The old saying that you can run, but you can't hide is becoming ever more true.

The success rate of finding missing parents is phenomenal. If you have the missing person's social security number, there is a 95% chance that he or she will be located. That chance is somewhat less if you don't have a social security number. Once found, the Child Support Enforcement Unit in your state should be able to help collect support arrearage and keep support current.

The Law Offices of Hans R. Hailey are located in Boston and Westwood, Massachusetts. Divorce and family law attorneys from the Law Offices of Hans R. Hailey frequently represent clients in family law claims in Boston and throughout Massachusetts.