Regardless of being married, never being married, or being formerly married, both parents have an ongoing obligation to provide financial support for their children. Parents may enter into their own agreements regarding child support, but such agreements must still, at a minimum, meet state guidelines and receive court approval to be valid. These requirements are to protect the fact that the right to receive a certain level of support rests with the child, not the parents of the child.
The amount of child support a parent will be obligated to pay to the custodial parent will be based on set guidelines established by the Arkansas Supreme Court for all courts in the state to follow. Through using the guidelines, the amount of child support a parent may be ordered to pay to the other will be calculated. While this may be how the amount of child support will be determined, you may have other questions such as, how can I pay for child support? This is important to be aware of as failure to pay court-ordered child support can have serious consequences.
How Can I Pay Child Support?
Child support payments can be made through several different means. You may make your child support payments through income withholding. In fact, the majority of child support orders provide for income withholding, which requires an employer to automatically withhold child support from the paycheck of the noncustodial parent. The Arkansas Department of Finance Administration (DFA), should you have an open enforcement case with them, will set up the income withholding by providing your employer with the court order and other necessary information. Even if you do not have an open enforcement case with DFA, DFA can still assist you in setting up income withholding. While you may shy away from income withholding at first, you should consider the benefit of having your child support automatically deducted from your wages. It significantly reduced the risk of forgetting to make your payment or from spending your wages prior to paying for child support.
You may also make child support payments via credit card or eCheck online by creating an account on MyCase. Once you have created a MyCase account, you can opt to make on-time child support payments. Alternately, you can choose to set up a schedule of recurring payments. MyCase will also allow you to check your case status as well as your balance and keep your contact information up to date.
Child support payments may also be made via MoneyGram, which is a money transfer service popularly provided at a variety of retail locations. To make a MoneyGram payment, you must visit a retail location that makes the service available. You must pay a fee to make the transfer and provide the receive code number as well as your child support case number.
You may also pay your child support by mail with a check, certified check or money order sent straight to the Arkansas Child Support Clearinghouse in Little Rock. Include your case number as well as the name of the custodial parent along with your payment. This will help ensure you are properly credited for your child support payment
Family Law Attorney
Do you have questions about child support? The knowledgeable team at the Law Office of Bryce Cook has answers for you. Contact the Law Offices of Bryce Cook today.