Child Support

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Child support is based on the widely held belief that both parents are obligated to support their children, even when the children are not living with both biological parents. This core assumption is held by the USA, UK, Australia and countless other nations and is demonstrated by the UN 1992 ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child', signed by all member nations.

Child support is intended as a means for the state or a child's sole guardian to seek some financial aid for the child's custodian from the absent parent or parents. The child support system is designed to establish frequent and fair monetary support for a child's guardian, extracted from the child's legally recognized biological parents. In most cases, child support is claimed by a sole parent against the child's other biological parent.

There are three factors central to the successful use of child support:

 

• Primarily, the child's custodian must prove to a court of law who the child's biological parents are. This can be as simple as examining a child's birth certificate or, if challenged, might require DNA testing or other evidence.

• Secondly, the absent parent must be able to pay. Records of job earnings, income support or any other financial dealings may be required by the court. The quantity of child support paid will depend upon the income of the absent parent.

• Thirdly, the supported custodian must use the collected funds to support the child. If it can be demonstrated that those monies will or have not been used to support the child, then the custodian may risk further support.

Though child support details vary by country and state, most recognize that a child is eligible for child support until the age of 16. At this point, payments will cease to be collected from the parent. Some variations allow for child support to continue to be collected past this age, but require the child to be enrolled in a full-time degree seeking course, or for the responsible parents to be in arrears with their payments.

Non compliance with court ordered child support payments may result in numerous punishments, ranging from denial or suspension of drivers, hunting, and professional licenses, to more severe judgements to deny passports or even impose prison sentences.

We provide further reading on child support issues on our child support laws guide. You might also want to visit the child support page on Wikipedia, or the NACSA (a UK child support advice website) for further information.