Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About
Child Support
Child Support Establishment
In Arizona, a court order is the only way to establish a child
support amount. Both
parents’ incomes are used to calculate the amount of child support
that the noncustodial parent will pay to the other household to
financially support the children. The
Arizona Child Support Guidelines are used
to calculate the support amount.
A formal request must be filed with the court asking for a
court order that establishes the child support amount.
Custody of the children must be determined by a court before
child support can be ordered, and, in cases where the parents were not
married, paternity must also be established before the court can
order child support.
To establish child support, you may:
Child Support Payments
After the child support amount has been established by the court, a
court order signed by a judicial officer will be issued by the court. It
is important to keep a copy for your records, but you may obtain copies
of your order from the
Clerk of Superior Court.
The order specifies:
- the amount of child support to be paid
- who will pay the child support amount
- when to begin paying the child support amount
An Order of Assignment (also called Income Withholding Order)
will be filed at the same time and a copy will be sent to the paying
parent’s employer directing the employer to withhold the child support
amount from the employee’s paycheck. The employer will send the money
directly to the Support Payment Clearinghouse.
Because the paperwork takes awhile to move through the system,
the paying parent should check with his/her employer to see when the
first payment will be made. If it will not be made at the time stated in
the child support order, the paying parent should make the first payment
directly to the Support Payment Clearinghouse at:
Arizona Support Payment Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 52107
Phoenix, Arizona 85072-2107
All child support payments should be paid directly to the Support
Payment Clearinghouse. Payments
should never be given directly to the other parent.
If paid directly to the other parent, there is no record of the
payment and an arrearage amount will show on the child support payment
record, which will potentially result in action being taken against the
person ordered to pay support.
After the payment is received by the Support Payment Clearinghouse,
the custodial person has two options for receiving payments:
- automatic deposit into the custodial person’s bank
account, or
- the payment can be loaded onto a pay card that can be used by the
custodial person anywhere that major credit and debit cards are
accepted.
Payments for cases not in the Division of Child Support Enforcement
system can be viewed online (for Maricopa County cases only).
Payments and limited case information for cases in the
Division
of Child Support Enforcement system may be viewed online (for
cases statewide).
Child Support Enforcement
After the child support amount has been ordered by the court,
payments must be made on a monthly basis and paid on time as specified
in the child support order. If payments are not made on time, a variety
of actions can be taken against the paying parent, including:
- Court action which could result in incarceration (jail time)
- Liens on personal and real property and motor vehicles
- License suspension (drivers, professional, recreational)
- Tax refund intercepts
(both state and federal)
- Bank account seizure
- Passport denial
- Credit bureau reporting
- Lottery winning intercept
- Unemployment Insurance benefit intercept
- Worker’s compensation intercept
To collect the unpaid child support amounts, you may:
The Division of Child Support Enforcement is the only entity that can
perform the actions above that are italicized.
If you represent yourself in court or hire an attorney to
represent you but do not have a case with the Division of Child Support
Enforcement, those enforcement options will not be available to you.
Child Support Modification
The child support amount may be modified if the parent asking the
court to modify the amount can prove that:
- Circumstances have changed in a substantial and continuing manner
(called a Standard
Modification), or
- The new amount would be at least 15% higher or lower than the
existing amount (called a Simplified Modification).
A change of circumstances typically means that income has changed
significantly or a change of custody has taken place.
To modify the child support amount, you may:
Child Support Termination
All child support orders and Orders of Assignment signed
by a judge after January 1, 2005, will contain the date that child
support should stop accruing (after the youngest child emancipates at
age 18 or until finished with high school but not beyond age 19). This
will automatically stop the child support order and the Order of
Assignment; however, if any unpaid (past due) child support is still
owing, the employer will be instructed to continue withholding an amount
from the paying parent’s paycheck until paid in full, including
interest and fees.
Child support orders prior to January 1, 2005, will automatically
stop accruing; however the Order of Assignment does not stop until the
paying parent files a Request to Stop the Order of Assignment and
can prove that all past due support and any interest and fees have been
paid in full.
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