Utah Child Support
From LoveToKnow Divorce
Understanding Utah Child Support Laws
Utah child support laws help parents and the courts provide for the financial support of minor children in the state. Along with the child support laws, the child support calculator also helps you and the court determine how much child support is proper.
Gathering Your Financial Information
Before the court will calculate your Utah child support payments, the court must examine important financial documents provided by you and the other parent. You should gather and review the following information or documents before going to court:
- Gross income of both parents
- Childcare costs
- Health insurance costs
- Child support for children of other relationships
- Spousal support paid or received
- Extra education costs
- Extraordinary medical costs
Modifications of the Child Support Order
Either parent may ask the Utah Child Support Services Division of the Department of Human Services to review the support order once every three years from the time the order was issued or last modified, or when a substantial change in circumstances has occurred. Under limited and special circumstances, the Utah Child Support Services Division may conducted a review in less than three years.
Your request for a modification must be in writing and state the specific reasons for the modification. If Child Support Services decides that a modification is appropriate, then amount could go up or the amount could go down.
There are some methods for lowering your child support payments, be careful. Always be honest and candid with the court. Never lie to the court. Never doctor documents, hide assets, or exaggerate your financial situation.
The same rules apply when you are requesting an increase in child support payment. You must be honest about your finances and the needs of your child. Inevitably, the court will find out if you are not being honest. In that case, the court may decide to issue a costly penalty against you.
The court will modify a child support order upon:
- A change in the custody of a child
- An increase or decrease in the income of either parent
- Obligation of either parent to support other dependants, including children or elderly parents
- Addition of or a change the health insurance coverage
- Additional expenses for the special needs of gifted or handicapped children
Terminating the Child Support Obligation
Your Utah child support order will terminate once the child:
- Reaches the age of 18 and graduates from high school
- Has a change in legal custody
- Is emancipated by court order
- Enlists in the armed services
- Gets married
- Dies
However, the child support obligation will not terminate in the above listed situations if the child suffers from severe special needs that cause him or her to remain dependent past the age of majority. For instance, the court may order support for grown children who cannot work and support themselves due to their disabilities.
Enforcing the Child Support Obligation
The child-support order can be enforced by a mandatory payroll deduction. A mandatory payroll deduction means that the court ordered the paying parent’s employer to deposit payroll funds for the support of the children. When the court orders a mandatory payroll deduction, the employer cannot refuse to follow the court’s order. Also, parents cannot say when they will make their child support payments.
Child support enforcement services are available to all applicants or recipients upon request. Services provided through the child support enforcement agencies include:
- Location of parents
- Establishment of paternity
- Establishment and enforcement of Utah child support orders
- Review and modification of child support orders
Comments
Mickey,
If your former husband hasn't been making his payments as ordered, you can have him noted in default and his wages may be garnished or other assets seized to pay the debt. I would suggest that you consult a lawyer near you to find out what your options are to recover this unpaid money.
Jodee Redmond
LoveToKnow Editor
-- Contributed by: JCRedmondJackilyn,
A person's income tax refunds can be seized in order to satisy an outstanding debt. You would need to have him noted in default for not paying under the divorce decree first. The Court Clerk's office where the original judgment was issued may be able to tell you how to proceed or a lawyer will be able to advise you on how to have his tax refunds taken to pay the debt.
Jodee Redmond
LoveToKnow Editor
-- Contributed by: JCRedmondI was the stay at home mom who worked for my husband in his part time welding business. He worked full time and I raised the children. We divorced after they had children of their own. I left without anything and he had all the money. I could not afford an attorney. I moved out of state when he filed for divorce. In the divorce decree it states that I could not have any of his retirement even though we had been together almost 30 years. It also stated that he would pay me an amount of 28,000 to have the retirement waved. I had no financial means of going back to Utah and also I was dealing with the guilt of leaving even thought it is the best thing I ever did. He made me feel worthless and it took a long time to build up my self-esteem. Since then he has stopped paying me the 400 a month he agreed to pay until the full amount was satisfied. Do I have any rights to take him back to court. If so do I have any rights to the retirement that we built together. I gave up everything so he could build his two retirement accounts. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The divorce was final in 2004. He has paid less than 8 thousand to date and has no intention of paying a dime more. I live in Washington would I have to go back to Utah or could an attorney take care of this for me? Thanks, Mickey
-- Contributed by: MickeyThis page has been accessed 589 times. This page was last modified 16:15, 4 March 2008.
© 2006-2008 LoveToKnow Corp.
