Enforcing a Child Support Order Out of State

If your child’s other parent moves out of state, you can still get child support to help you provide for your kids. When a non-custodial parent moves to a different state, the process for collecting support is more complicated. However, family court orders are still enforceable across state borders.

Child support services and family law are different in every state. For information about enforcing existing child support orders across state lines, talk to a local child support law attorney.

Challenges of Getting Child Support Payments Across States

The custodial parent generally gets child support payments from the non-custodial parent. The family law judge determines the child support payment amounts based on income, number of children, and other factors. The paying parent has to make regular support payments as long as the child support order is in effect. The custodial parent can take enforcement action to collect support payments and arrears.

No matter where the other parent lives, you have many options to enforce court-ordered child support. However, the difficulty can depend on whether your ex cooperates or is trying to avoid their support obligations. Registering with your state child support services is generally the first step to enforcing support orders.

Your state child support agency will need to locate the other parent. You can help by finding out the other parent’s current address from relatives or friends. They can also track down the other parent with their Social Security number. If the parent is behind on support payments, you can file a complaint with the support agency or family court. The Department of Health and Human Services has a locator resource to help you find your local child support office.

The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA)

Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), child support orders issued in one state are enforceable in other states. When your state agency submits a court order detailing child support arrears, the other state will help enforce the order. This law also helps you find the other parent if they move away.

Talk to your family law attorney about filing a claim under UIFSA. Your local child support services agency can also help. Under the UIFSA, the other parent’s home state must enforce valid family court orders.

If you move to another state as a custodial parent, you can transfer your child support case to your new state. Your new state can then enforce child support obligation orders in the former state. For questions about transferring child support orders, talk to your family law attorney.

Child Support State Services

Contact your local child support enforcement agency. You can also work with your state family court. Generally, you should pick one of these options and not both so there won’t be duplicate cases.

The state you live in is the initiating state. Your state will contact the responding state to enforce support orders. While your state will primarily handle communication, you may still need to provide information or assistance to the responding state if requested.

Using Parent Locator Services

Every state has a parent locator service. The local child support offices have access to resources, including:

• New hire data
• Driver’s license change of address information
• Unemployment insurance information
• Workers’ compensation filing
• Criminal and civil court records
• Credit bureau data
• Department of motor vehicle information
• Public assistance

Using these public records, your state child support services can find your ex. Once they have the other parent’s address, the courts can contact them to begin enforcement of child support orders.

Using Your Ex’s New Job for Child Support Payments

There are many ways to get money from the other parent, even if they don’t want to pay. One of the most common ways to enforce child support orders is wage garnishment. The family court sends a garnishment order to the other parent’s employer. They can get child support payments from the other parent’s paycheck.

Under federal law, employers must act on child support garnishment orders from other states. The employer can’t refuse to garnish an employee’s wages for child support just because the order comes from another state. Other ways to get payments from the other parent include:

• Interception of income tax refunds
• Intercept lottery winnings
• Unemployment benefits
• Workers’ compensation benefits
• Retirement benefits

Seeking Legal Assistance for Interstate Support

You shouldn’t have to work so hard to get the other parent to pay their share. Unfortunately, many parents struggle to provide for their kids because the other parent won’t pay. A child support attorney can help you take legal action to get the support you need. Your attorney can review your case and explain your legal options.

Your attorney can assist in tracking down the other parent, often working with state agencies and locator services, even if they are living in another state or country. Your attorney can take legal action to get the local family law agencies to enforce the support orders. Contact a local child support lawyer for legal advice about enforcing child support orders out of state.