Child Support Help you can Afford!

It is not secret that over half of marriages end in divorce and stuck in the middle of all this is your children as a result of happier times. You are seeking legal services and information so that you don't have to take on the burden of raising your children without assistance from the other parent. Hopefully the facts below will put some things into perspective and point you in the right direction. Once you have visited some of the sites that I highly recommend, please come back and let me show you how you can get the legal aid you need to fight your former partner for the money that they should be paying!

Child support is supposed to be paid by the non custodial parent to ensure that their children have what they need to live a comfortable life. Laws and enforcement differ from state to state, but in all regions and jurisdictions, non custodial parents must pay according to the court's order or face legal consequences.

You have enforcement options under United States Code. This is information that you can use to coerce the offender into possibly making payments as they are supposed to.

(1) willfully fails to pay a support obligation with respect to a child who resides in another State, if such obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than 1 year, or is greater than $5,000;

(2) travels in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent to evade a support obligation, if such obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than 1 year, or is greater than $5,000; or

(3) willfully fails to pay a support obligation with respect to a child who resides in another State, if such obligation has remained unpaid for a period longer than 2 years, or is greater than $10,000;

Than the punishment for the above offenses will be:

(1) in the case of a first offense under subsection (a)(1), a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both; and

(2) in the case of an offense under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (a), or a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a)(1), a fine under this title, imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or both.

Upon a conviction under this section, the court shall order restitution under section 3663A in an amount equal to the total unpaid support obligation as it exists at the time of sentencing.

There are two approaches to calculating legal award amounts. One, based on the costs of supporting a child, the other related to the capacity of parents to contribute to the support. In the United States, the federal government requires all states to have guideline calculations that can be verified and certified. These are usually computer programs based upon certain financial information including, earnings, visitation, taxes, insurance costs, and several other factors. You can search for these online but the best way to find the exact one for your state is to do a Google search with the words "Child Support Calculator for (whichever state you reside in)".

Click on Child Support Laws. This is a state by state child support resource that covers across the United States. Here you will find information on the laws and guidelines of child support!

The Office of Child Support Enforcement is another online state specific resources to assist you in claiming the support your children are entitled to. The website has links for each state office so no matter where the delinquent offender is living, you will discover what programs and enforcement options are available to you.