A Parent’s Guide to Child Support - CO Courts

1 A Parent s Guideto Child SupportCOLORADODEPARTMENT OFHUMANSERVICESD ivision of Child Support EnforcementTHIS HANDBOOKhas been designed to help youunderstand how Child Support works. We allagree children have the right to Support fromboth parents and do not lose this right whena parent is not in their home. This basic beliefis why we have Child Support hope this handbook helps you answer ques-tions that you might have about Child would encourage you to freely communi-cate with your Child Support enforcement ask questions and let them know if youremployment changes or if you increase yourparenting time with your children. We need tobe able to keep you informed of changes thatmay occur. To do this we need you to let usknow if you move or change your you for being there for your children!Colorado Division of Child Support EnforcementiContentsThey re Counting on You .. 1 The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Unit.

2 2 Legal Representation .. 3 Obligor and Obligee .. 3 The Administrative Process .. 4 Establishing a Child Support Order .. 5 Paternity .. 6 Divorce or Legal Separation .. 7 The Child Support Guidelines .. 7 Calculating the Amount .. 8 Sample Worksheet A .. 10 Deviations from the Guidelines .. 12 The Family Support Registry .. 12 Duration of a Child Support Order .. 13 The Importance of Current Information .. 13 Modifying a Child Support Order .. 13 Enforcing a Child Support Order the Income Assignment .. 15 Other Enforcement Tools .. 16 Parenting Time and Decision-Making Responsibilities .. 17 Mediation.. 18 Legal Assistance .. 19On the Internet .. 20 Glossary .. 22iiiA Parent s Guide toChild SupportThey re Counting on YouFor your children to grow anddevelop properly, they need love andsupport from both parents . Your sonor daughter needs attention, care,and guidance from Mom AND fact is, your children are count-ing on you to be there, no matterwhat your family situation may help can come in many forms: the confidence you instillin your daughter when you assist her with a school project; theunderstanding you furnish your son when he s having a prob-lem with his friends; and the camaraderie you share when eat-ing ice cream cones together on a warm summer critical component of your relationship with your children isfinancial Support .

3 Though not as heartwarming as being therefor your daughter s first steps or you son s first T-Ball game, themoney both parents provide their children is, nonetheless, a sig-nificant part of parents responsibility to their children. Besidesproviding for life s more basic needs, such as food, clothing, andshelter, this money helps children expand their horizons throughactivities like piano lessons, scouting, and hockey camp. Finan-cial Support is a key component of the responsibility you haveto your of the most important parts parents can play in the lives oftheir children is that of role model. Children look to their parentsfor guidance and often adopt the behaviors they see in their par-ents. By being a responsible parent, you can give your Child invalu-able lessons in respect, duty, and honesty that can last a money a parent provides is commonly known as Child sup-port. Whether you ve been paying Support for many years or1are a new parent, this booklet explains how Child Support worksin Colorado.

4 The process of establishing, enforcing, and modi-fying a Child Support order can be a bewildering maze involvinglocal Child Support units, Courts , judges, unfamiliar legal terms,and daunting paperwork. We hope this booklet can answer yourquestions about the legal system as it relates to Child supportcases, as well as how your case will be handled by the Child sup-port enforcement Child Support Enforcement (CSE) UnitDue to the continuing lack of compliance with Child supportorders, the government has played an ever-increasing role in thechild Support process. In 1975, the United States Congress cre-ated a national Child Support program. This federal effort requiredeach state to set up an organization for the establishment, enforce-ment and distribution of Child Support . In return, the federalgovernment provides states with much of the funding needed tooperate the Child Support program. While the focus was initiallyon recouping money states and counties paid to welfare recipi-ents, the program now also includes families who are owed sup-port but who are not receiving public Colorado, the Child Support program is operated at the countylevel.

5 The Child Support enforcement unit is typically abranch of the county Department of Social will probably encounter the term IV-D (pro-nounced four dee ), as in IV-D program or IV-D case. This phrase comes from the location of theoriginal legislation that created the Child supportprogram within Title IV-D of the Social Security all Child Support cases involve the Child sup-port enforcement unit. Many cases are handled byprivate attorneys or by the parents themselves withno governmental involvement. A Child supportmatter becomes a IV-D case when the Child anda parent receive public assistance OR a parentapplies for services from the Child supportenforcement unit. Either parent may requestthat the IV-D agency become involved in achild Support RepresentationColorado law specifies that the Child Support agency representsthe people of the State of Colorado, not either of the parents ina Child Support case.

6 The law goes on to say that there is not anattorney client relationship created between a lawyer for thechild Support enforcement unit and a parent whose Child sup-port order is being enforced by that are entitled to retain legal counsel at any stage of the private attorney may represent you, for example, in a matterinvolving paternity, the entry of a Child Support order, or a mod-ification of that order. It is up to you to determine whether youshould seek legal counsel. It is also up to you to pay the bill foryour attorney, as there are no free court -appointed attorneys avail-able to you in a Child Support case. You can, however, seek theaid of free or low-cost attorneys from groups such as Legal Aidor your local Bar Association. Please see the listing of resourcesat the end of this and ObligeeA number of unfamiliar terms and phrases may crop up in thecontext of a Child Support matter. The glossary at the back of thisbooklet defines the most common of these for you.

7 Two newwords merit special attention, parents in a Child Support case can be described in severalways. The easiest words to use are probably mother and father. However, it is not always the case that the mother is the partyreceiving the Child Support and the father is the one paying may also hear the phrases custodial party, custodial par-ent, noncustodial parent, and absent parent. Because these terms are often imperfect and inaccurate, the words obligor and obligee are frequently used. The obligor is theparent responsible for making the Support payments, and theobligee is the recipient of these payments. These words have thevirtue of being applicable in almost every Child Support case,regardless of which parent is in which Administrative ProcessAs the obligor in a Child Support matter, you help determine howyour case will be handled by the Child Support enforcement basic choice you have is whether your case will be handledas a judicial matter by the Courts or as an administrative matterby the IV-D traditional route for a Child Support case to travel is throughthe court system.

8 This means a formal litigation setting and allthat goes with it. There may be discovery, delays, and continu-ances. There will probably be lawyers and their accompanyinglegal bills. When all is said and done, the end result will be abinding Child Support in the IV-D system may follow another path. Colorado lawallows the Child Support enforcement unit to conduct many ofthe required activities regarding paternity, establishment, andmodification without the need for court hearings. Rather, youwill meet with Child Support personnel in a negotiation confer-ence to determine if the issues in your case can be agreed uponinstead of the case going to court . If you and the Child supportunit can reach an agreement, that agreement is then filed withthe court and becomes an order of the court with the same forceand effect as one issued by a judge. As with cases pursued throughthe formal court process, the end result of a case handled admin-istratively is a binding Child Support case can be handled more quickly through the adminis-trative process than through the court system.

9 You may also beable to avoid many of the costs associated with a full-blown courtcase. Most obligors do not pursue court proceedings after a casehas been initiated administrative process begins when you receive a notice ofthe negotiation conference. Be sure to appear for this you fail to appear, the Child Support enforcement unit may seeka default order against you, meaning you would have no say inthe amount of Child Support you would owe each month. If youcan t make the appointment, be sure to call the Child supportoffice to request a continuance of the negotiation choice about whether to accept the results of the negotia-tion conference is yours. If you accept, the agreement will be4filed with the court . If you are not in agreement, a temporaryorder will be entered. However, a court hearing will be case will then cease to be handled administratively and willbe transferred to the traditional judicial administrative process has proven to be a cost effectivemethod of handling Child Support cases for all parties not only reduces the amount of time and money you mayspend on your case, it can also lessen your anxiety as a Child Support OrderBefore you can legally be compelled to pay Child Support , theremust be a legal determination that you are the father of the childin question and that you have a legal responsibility to providefinancial Support for that Child .

10 Only then can an appropriateamount of Support be calculated and a Child Support orderentered, either through the court system or the you are or were married to the mother of your Child or yourname appears on the Child s birth certificate, you are generally pre-sumed to be the father of the Child , and no further determinationof legal responsibility is necessary. The case can move directly toa calculation of the appropriate amount of Child , if you are the father and were never married to themother of your Child and your name is not on the Child s birthcertificate, further action will be necessary before a Child supportamount can be calculated. A legal parent Child relationship mustbe established before a Support order can be entered. In otherwords, it must be shown that you are the father of the Child beforeyou can be ordered to provide financial Support for that establishing the father Child relationship can be accom-plished in a number of ways.