Child Support

• Child support laws are legal relations that bond parents to their child until they are 18, despite what may happen with their parents relationship. The enforcement of child support usually comes from a divorce or separation, with the arrangement typically being for one parent to pay the other a share of financial obligation to raise the child or children.
  
  

Basic Child Support Information

• Child support orders are issued by a family court. The court bases the amount of child support paid by child support guidelines that usually center upon the non-custodial parent's income. Deviation may occur depending on any special needs or situations that may already be in place or occur later. The custodial parent's income despite the difference it may be from the non-custodial parent has no influence on what the court will order to be paid. An increase or decrease in child support may occur if the non-custodial parent has a drastic change in income and petitions the family court to address the change.
  
  

Fair Support

• Encouraging fair and efficient settlements for child support is the court's main priority. Despite the parents differences, the court is a non-partial third party that ensures the child or children involved is cared for emotionally, physically and financially. Without child support laws to regulate financial responsibility, people would lose their financial accountability to their child or children. Financial requirements of the child or children should try to be met through personal resources as much as possible. Both parents are responsible for the financial well-being of their offspring.
  
  

Failure to Pay Child Support

• Failure to pay child support can result in a suspended driver's license, as well as suspended professional, leisure and industrial licenses after 30 days. If incarcerated, the parent required to pay child support will still be obligated to make those payments. Failure to pay child support will also show up on a credit report. Failing to pay child support however does not give the custodial parent right to prevent the non-custodial parent visitation with the child or children. Child support and visitation are separate entities from child support due to the importance of the best interests of the children in forming or continuing a relationship with the non-custodial parent.
  
  

Child Support Statistics

• In the United States the divorce rate is 3.5 percent per 1,000 population (44 reporting states and Washington, D.C.), with 61 percent of those couples having children and at least one parent required to pay child support. From 1997 to 2002, annual child support payments increased 18 percent. Sixty percent or $24 billion was paid in annual child support in 2002 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.