Child Support: Getting The Money You Deserve

Taking care of your children without the benefit of child support is difficult. The expense that children accumulate is often overwhelming including their medical bills, school costs, and even the food and clothing they constantly require. Instead of trying to take on the burden alone, it is important to track down the other responsible parent and seek out financial assistance. There are a variety of different local agencies and attorneys that are willing to work with people looking to track down the non-custodial parent and financial assistance.

Locate a Local Agency or Law Firm:
Each state has different agencies that work with individuals seeking child support. In these situations, a claim is filed and the non-custodial parent is tracked down. Before going down to the agency, consider looking up the necessary information or making phone calls to learn more. There is a good chance that you may have to wait in line before seeing someone about your situation. You want to be prepared and have all of the information you need upfront.

If you already know this person's name and his or her whereabouts, it makes the search a little easier. The more details you have the better including the person's phone number, address, last place of employment or even a social security number. If you are working with a child support attorney, this information will be turned over to the firm.

Proof of the Child's Existence:
It may seem strange but you must be able to prove that you have children that are the subject of the child support claim. While bringing them to the agency or law firm is great, you will need to be able to show a birth certificate and a social security number. If the birth certificate has the name of the non-custodial parent, there is a good chance that your financial claim will go through. If the man is not mentioned on the birth certificate, there are still ways to prove paternity and responsibility.

Going to Court:
While ideally people want to handle these things outside of court, sometimes there is just no way around it. An agreement must be reached between you and the non-custodial parent with the help of a legal representative. The agreement should be legally binding. There are times when a question will arise about whether or not the non-custodial parent is actually the father. In this case, the potential father and the children will need to undergo DNA testing to find out for sure.

Receiving the Funds:
Once the court orders child support, there is no guarantee that you will receive the money. In fact, many parents find that they need to work with enforcement agencies to receive the funds. In some cases, the non-custodial parent will have wages garnished in order to live up to the financial agreement.