Definition

• Child support is the payment of funds by a non-custodial parent to a custodial parent for the financial and medical care of a child.
  
  

Paternity

• Paternity must be established, whether voluntarily or through a court requested DNA order, before a child support order can be filed.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Even if parents are on friendly terms, an informal spoken support agreement cannot legally take the place of a written court-sanctioned agreement. Mediation can help parents who want to come to an amicable, enforceable support agreement.
  
  

Support Determination

• Every state has different specific laws regarding the determination of child support, but they are all relative to the income of the non-custodial parent.
  
  

Enforcement

• Child support can be garnished from wages. Failure to pay back child support can result in property liens, account seizures and even jail time.