Child support is a certain amount of money that a court instructs one parent of a child to pay the other parent. The court’s instruction is detailed in a document called a child support “order.” The child support money is used to financially support the child. If you are having difficulties supporting your child after a divorce, or if the other parent is not pulling his/her weight, you may want to contact a family law attorney for advice.
First of all, if you have been the victim of domestic violence by the other parent you may ask for child support when you are seeking a domestic violence restraining order. If you are married or in a registered domestic partnership and have a child from that union, you can also seek child support as part of a dissolution of that marriage or domestic partnership. The legal procedures differ slightly depending on whether or not you are married or in a domestic partnership with the other parent of the child. Regardless, the procedures all lead to the same result, a child support order. In order to begin this process, you must file a court case. After you file the case, the court may then decide to grant you the order for child support. In addition, if you do not want to file for divorce or legal separation, you can file a Petition for Custody and Support of Minor Children and Summons. This also allows you to seek child support from your spouse.
If you are not married to, or a domestic partner of, the other parent, you may ask for child support in different instances. First, you may ask for child support if you file a parentage case to determine who the legal parents of the child are. Second, if you have signed a voluntary Declaration of Paternity, you may choose to file a petition for Custody and Support of Minor Children as well.
If you are confused about what is your best option for successfully obtaining child support from your ex-spouse, you may need professional guidance. Please contact us for more information. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.