Pennsylvania Child Support Basics
The state’s child support laws create a system in which parents are obligated to support their own children. This requirement includes daily living expenses, including healthcare and daycare.
Usually, one parent is the primary caregiver, and the other pays to help with the child’s needs. The money is not for the custodial parent’s benefit. It is to be spent on the child.
Child support is also an issue during divorce proceedings when the spouses have a child. It could be one of many issues that must be resolved before the divorce is final. If the parents are living apart, a child support agreement or order can go into effect while the parents are still married.
How Do I Start the Process?
Child support can be arranged in several ways. Parents can agree on support and ask a judge to approve the agreement through a support order in a divorce or other family law proceeding. Most cases start when a parent completes an Application for Child Support and submits it to their local Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) office. If your case involves other circumstances, we can help you work with BCSE to:
- Find a noncustodial parent
- Establish paternity if the child is born outside of marriage
- Establish support obligations
- Collect and distribute support
- Enforce support obligations
What are Bucks County Child Support Payments Based On?
Support is based on the reasonable:
- Needs of the child
- The ability of the non-custodial parent to pay
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court creates support guidelines and should be the basis of any agreement. Judges also use them to develop a figure if no deal is reached. Guidelines are driven by the parents’ monthly income. Both parents may be ordered to pay support for a child not in their care.
The most essential factors in the guideline include:
- The parents’ incomes
- Daycare costs
- Health insurance expenses
- The number of minor children of each parent
- Social Security benefits a child may receive
- The child’s living arrangements
A judge will review the support amount at least every four years. After an order has been signed, if changed circumstances justify it, a parent can ask that the amount be increased or decreased.
How Can Support Be Spent?
Support can pay for:
- Food
- Clothing
- Shelter
- Medical insurance
- Medical expenses
- Education expenses
- Child care
- Visitation travel costs
- Extracurricular activities
Child support obligations continue until the child is 18 or graduates high school. Child support payments may continue if they have special needs or continue their education.
How are Child Support Orders Enforced?
When a non-custodial parent does not pay the full support amount on time, they violate a court order and may face serious consequences. The receiving parent could file a court action to enforce the order, with or without an attorney’s help. It is not wise to ignore a support order.
A parent could also request help from BCSE, which can enforce child support orders by pursuing unpaid amounts on your child’s behalf. Typically, there is a small fee to start a case. BCSE has several enforcement tools at its disposal.
Which approach is right for you depends on your circumstances. If child support is one of several matters we help you with, it makes sense for us to handle this issue, too. If you do not have money to spend on an attorney, BCSE is a good choice.
We Can Help You Achieve Your Child Support Goals
Karen Ann Ulmer, P.C., lawyers believe that, unless there is an agreement, parents should not receive less child support or pay more than the law requires. Whether you pay or receive child support, if you have questions about it or need legal representation, book a 15-minute consultation by filling out our online form.
