Child Support Claim-What do you need to know when a claim for child support has been made against you?

Answer 1

Introduction: Most divorced or single fathers will be asked to pay child support at some point during their children's lives. If you have to pay child support, here are some things that you should do.

Things You Will Need:

# A calculator that calculates interest; # Ledger paper or if you use a computer a program like Quickbooks; # Copies of your paycheck stubs; # Copies of your child support checks; # An accountant if you are self employed; # All your child support receipts # A printout of your child support payments from the state agency you send your payments to; # Copy of your state's child support guidelines; DON'T GET A TAX REFUND: All states have program to capture federal and state income tax refunds to repay past due child support. If you owe past due child support the capturing of your income tax refunds may be a relatively painless way of paying your past due child support. Unfortunately, the computers that capture income tax refund payments are not always accurate and may people who DO NOT OWE past due child support get their refunds captured. The only way to avoid this problem is not to get a refund. Any good accountant will tell you that it is not wise to get tax refunds anyway. Uncle Sam does not pay you interest for money that he keeps all year long and only charges modest fees if you have not paid in enough at the end of the year. Increase the number of deductions on your W-4 form at your employer. The IRS hardly even blinks if you take up to 8 deductions on your W-4 form. You may have to pay in some extra taxes a couple of times per year, but then again you will get more spendable money from each paycheck. If you already have a refund coming for the year, elect to have your refund go toward your next year's taxes. If you have remarried, make certain to have your spouse fill out form 8379 (INJURED SPOUSE CLAIM AND ALLOCATION-see link below) and send this form in with your taxes.

KEEP ALL YOUR RECORDS FOREVER: You should keep copies of all your paycheck stubs showing child support deductions, child support receipts, and any agreements that you and the other side have made concerning child support forever. It is a good idea to make multiple copies of these items and store them in separate places so that one fire does not wipe them out. We cannot count the number of times members have had to repay some of their child support obligations because they threw away some of the above items and did not keep good records of their child support payments.

DON'T PAY MOM - PAY THE COURT: While the agencies that collect child support have a lot to be desired, it is generally a much better idea to pay through the court system than to pay the mother directly. Moms have a way of conveniently forgetting that they have been paid child support and often ask to be repaid for child support that has already been paid. By paying through the court, you are much more likely to be able to document that you have paid your support payments. Even so, you should get a printout from the court every six months or so to make certain that you are getting credit for all your child support payments. Some states keep child support payments in multiple agencies, if this is the case in your state you should get printouts from all the agencies dealing with your support payments to make certain that you are getting proper credit for your payments.

KEEP A CHILD SUPPORT LEDGER: You should keep a ledger of your child support payments. If you have a computer you can keep this ledger on a standard spreadsheet program or in a program like Quicken. If you do not have a computer buy some ledger paper and keep a ledger that way. We have included a basic child support ledger in this manual.

IF YOU LOSE YOUR JOB MAKE A MOTION TO MODIFY SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY: One of the main reasons that fathers fall behind on their child support is that they do not make motions to modify their child support immediately upon losing their employment. If you are fired or are laid off involuntarily you immediately file a motion to modify your child support payments. Most court systems have the necessary forms for you to make such motions if you cannot afford an attorney to assist you in modifying your support payments. You will need to have documents from your job as to why you are no longer working there. If you quit your job due to health reasons, you will need documentation from your doctor as to why you could not continue to perform your old job.

NOTE: You can only modify your child support back to the date that you filed your motion to modify the support so the longer you wait the more you may have to pay.

***Child support enforcement agencies are supposed to modify support for either parent if a modification is justified under that state's child support guidelines. If you have lost your job, you should ask the child support enforcement agency in your area to assist you in modifying your support. They will probably tell you that they cannot help you, but you have nothing to lose by asking.

HIRE AN ACCOUNTANT: If you are self-employed it is a good idea to hire a certified public accountant to keep your financial records. Child support enforcement attorneys are always questioning the record keeping of self-employed persons, claiming that you are taking money under the table. Having an accountant prepare your financial documents will give them more credence in court. A good accountant may find ways to save you all of his or her fees anyway. One thing you should consider doing if you are self-employed is to incorporate your business. By incorporating you can be given a base salary by the company which often will smooth out arguments as to how much you are making for child support purposes.

Note: If you incorporate you will need to have other persons as shareholders in your company for it to be most effective.

GET A COPY OF YOUR STATE'S CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES: Get a copy of your state's child support guidelines. You can generally get a copy of these guidelines along with your local court rules concerning child support enforcement at your local courthouse, or online. Most larger courthouses have a staff law library who can assist you in getting these items. You also might check with the Clerk of Court. If these folks are not helpful go to your local public library and ask the reference librarian for help. If you are a member of a father's group, ask around in the group for these items - someone will most certainly have them.

NOTE: Many states have child support calculators on the state web site. See link below.

PERSONAL INCOME TAX DEDUCTIONS FOR YOUR CHILDREN:If court order says that you get to declare your children as personal exemptions on your taxes, the IRS will generally honor said order. It is still a good idea to have the other side sign IRS Form 8332 when you turn in your taxes. If the other side will not sign this form but your order says that you get to declare the children, go ahead and take the deduction. The worst that can happen is that you will have to pay taxes on the income covered by the taxes - - if you don't take the deduction you will have to pay the taxes anyway so what do you have to lose by filing the deduction. Establishing the Amount of Child Support-See Link Below The first thing a male needs to consider, if the couple are/were not legally married and/or he has "doubts", is to establish the paternity of the child for whom support is being sought.

Secondly, one needs to have finalized the custodial arrangements before child support issues can be addressed. Such actions are generally done simultaneously.