Everyday we bring children into this big beautiful world. They come will very few survival skills and as parents, they are our responsibility. It is not just an emotion responsibility, it is a legal responsibility. It does not go away when they turn two or when parents stop talking to each other. Child support is much more than just money, but money is probably the root of the issue.
So, let’s learn about the money issue and once that is solved perhaps parents can just worry about being good parents again.
In Utah, child support is based on three areas. These are base child support, medical care and child care expenses. These are the basics and typically what family court judges use to determine child support. Parents can petition the court for changes in child support.
So where does a parent begin the process? If the couple is married and filing for divorce there are on line services in which the parents can come up with an agreement of child support. There are legal guidelines and calculators that make the process fairly simple. Just meet, determine the financial resources and needs and complete the paperwork. The problem with this scenario is that divorcing couples are often not reasonable and sometimes forget that the children are going through a divorce as well.
If the parents are not married, the same documents need to completed. There is typically a request for a paternity test for the child. A father can refuse a paternity test and agree to support, but this is a final decision if he refuses the test.
A lawyer can be hired to complete and file the forms. The parents will still need to gather and prepare all the needed information and provide it to the lawyer. The parents can also print the documents needed on line and file then paperwork themselves. The filing fee for just child support is $310.00. There is no way around this fee. This is for an original order or a requested change to an order.
The best place to get information and forms on line is this web site. Utah public libraries have computers for patrons use. There is no charge for computer time, but there is charge for printing. All of the forms can be filed on line in the state of Utah. All fees associated with the parent requesting a change of support or assessed to that individual, including serving notices.
If the issue is that a parent is simply not paying the court ordered child support than the parent would go through the Office of Recovery Services.
Bringing a child into the world is a real responsibility. It is enforceable by law, or we can just do the right thing.