Getting Child Support

If you have custody of a child, the courts can make the other parent pay you money to help with your child’s expenses. This is called child support. You can get an order for child support in a divorce, legal separation, paternity case, custody case, or as part of an Order for Protection (OFP). Buying gifts, clothes or food for the child does not count as child support.

“Child support” has 3 parts:

• Basic support – Part of your child’s expenses like food, clothing, housing and transportation
• Child care support – Part of your child care costs when you work or go to school
• Medical support – All or part of health insurance and other medical costs for your child

Be sure to ask your child support worker or lawyer, or the judge about child care and medical care help from the other parent.

Child support can be set above or below the guidelines depending on:

• The income, assets, expenses, and needs of both parents, and,
• The needs and expenses of the children.

If a parent has remarried or has a roommate, the court does not count the income of a new spouse or roommate.

No. Lawyers sometimes represent parents but most of the time, parents attend child support hearings without one. But if your case goes to a hearing, you may want one. A worker and lawyer from the IV-D Unit may come to the hearing and ask for support but the child support worker and lawyer do not represent either parent. 

All child support orders include cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). The court can leave out the COLA only if the other parent does not get pay increases or if the Court orders other regular increases in support.

The amount of the COLA depends upon inflation. You can get an increase every 2 years. If you are using the IV-D unit, they get it for you automatically. If you are not using IV-D, you should go to court to get an increase.

• If you get MFIP or other public assistance:
  The IV-D unit must help you collect support, free of charge. Once the court orders support, the IV-D Unit should collect it by withholding it from the other parent’s pay check. If you get MFIP cash, you will get your current child support but your MFIP will be reduced 2 months later by the amount of support you got.
  
  You can collect child support up to $100 per month for 1 child and up to $200 per month for 2 or more children and not have your MFIP reduced.
  
  If you get MFIP, county child care help, or Medical Assistance (MA), the IV-D unit keeps part of your child support money that is meant for child care or medical care.

• • If you do not get MFIP or other public assistance: 

• The IV-D Unit must help you if you have an order for support. You have to apply for help. Call your county’s IV-D office to apply. They get a court order to take the child support from the other parent’s pay check and send it to the IV-D unit. Then they send it to you. They keep 2% of the money as an administrative fee. The administrative fee can’t be more than $950 per year. 

  You can ask the court to have the other parent pay you directly if you do not get MFIP or other public benefits, and: 

  • Past payments were on time 

  • The court finds that direct payment of child support is in your child’s best interest and 

  • The other parent agrees, and the court approves your agreement 

The IV-D Unit must pay you the child support within 2 days of the date they get it.  

• Write a letter to the head of your county’s child support (IV-D) agency. Be specific as to what things the IV-D Unit did wrong and why. Include your address, the date, and your case number. Keep a copy of your letter.

  • If they don’t get back to you or fix the problem within 30 days, write a letter to: 

  DHS: Child Support Enforcement Division 

  P.O. Box 64946 

  St. Paul, MN 55164-0946 

  If that does not work, write to: 

  Administration for Children and Families 

  Child Support Enforcement 

  233 N. Michigan Ave., #400 

  Chicago, IL 60601-5519