Are you having trouble collecting the appropriate child support you are owed? Is your former spouse not paying child support at all? If so, there are legal steps you could take to set things right and ensure your child’s best interests are met.
Child Support Law
Under Kansas State law, children are entitled to financial support from both of their parents. Child support orders can be made in divorce, paternity, and child support modification cases.
Child support is typically calculated using the parties’ gross incomes and takes into account the costs of medical insurance and daycare costs paid for a child’s benefit. Child support can be adjusted when certain factors make it appropriate or necessary to do so. Once child support is ordered, it continues until the child turns 18 or finishes high school. Finally, child support can be re-examined to determine if it should be increased or decreased under the following reasons:
- The parties’ incomes have increased or decreased by 10% or more
- More than three years have passed since the last time the Court examined child support
- The child has moved into the next age category
- The child’s primary residential placement or a shared residential placement has changed
How to address child support
The first thing to do is confirm that there is a court order for child support. Once you have determined that there is an active order for child support, then you must confirm that no payments have been made by the parent responsible for paying child support. If the Court designated the use of Kansas Payment Center, you can go to Kansas Payment Center to confirm that no payments are being made for support. You will need your case number and the County in which your case was heard to be able to search for the information.
If you have confirmed that the other party has not paid then your next step is to file either a Motion to Compel or a Motion For Show Cause with the Court and to ask the judge in your case to schedule a hearing date on your motion. At the hearing, if you do not believe that the other party will voluntarily pay the child support, your attorney will ask the Court to approve an Income Withholding Order for your support.
Income Withholding Order
In the case that your former spouse is not paying support money in a timely manner, an income withholding order (IWO) could be implemented. An income withholding order is a garnishment order that will establish a specific routine payment amount that will be redacted from your former spouse’s income during their pay period.
Contact a Child Support Attorney Now
Your child has a right to be supported by both parents. If your child’s other parent is not paying their support, contact Addair Law to have a great attorney help you get the financial support your child deserves.