When going through a divorce, there’s a lot of financial issues to consider. And if you have children in that divorce, you’ll probably have twice as many financial questions. As we all know, it costs a lot to raise a child, so you may seek child support to help. But how do you go about that and how much can you receive? Here’s a few answers to some of the most common child support questions.

Child Support Questions

who pays child support? 

The question of who is responsible for paying child support can be a little tricky. For the most part, the responsibility will fall with the non-custodial parent. In this case, non- custodial means the parent that is not living with the child. For instance, this could apply to cases where a mom receives full custody of the child. While the father or other parent has some visitation rights, the child still remains under the care of the mother for the majority of the time. In this situation, the court would most likely require the father or other parent to pay child support.

how can I file for child support? 

In order to file for child support, you must obtain a court order. By going through the process of a court order, you can take legal action if the parent abruptly stops paying. Once you file that court order, the child support becomes effective immediately. Therefore, it’s important to file that order as soon as possible.

how will I receive child support? 

One of the most common child support questions is how will you receive the payments. In a lot of cases, you can choose to garnish wages. This means when that child support will draft out of the supporting parent’s paycheck, before they ever receive the check. That way, you don’t have to worry about them missing a payment or coming up short.

how long will I receive child support?

Lastly, another one of the most common child support questions is how long will it last. For the most part, when the court requires a parent to pay child support, they will have to do so until the child turns 18. In special cases, this can change. For instance, if another person adopts that child, then the birth parent would no longer have to pay child support. But for the most part, you will receive child support until your kid turns 18 years old.