Delaware Child Support

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Delaware located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the nation have its own domestic relations statute. All the divorcing couples have to follow the state laws in order to resolve their ongoing issues like property distribution, alimony, spousal maintenance, child custody and child support. Child support is a major issue where the non-custodial parent has to make a financial contribution in order to meet the basic requirements of the child. In divorce cases involving children, the primary aim of the court is to retain the interests of the children in the best possible way. The court orders for child support in Delaware divorce have to be followed compulsorily by separating parents.

The child support action begins with one parent filing the support petition. This parent requests the court to order the other parent pay a certain amount as support. Generally after filing the Petition, the parents have to attend a mediation conference. Here the mediator will calculate the support amount by using Delaware Child Support Formula.

Delaware Division of Child Support Enforcement

The Division of Child Support Enforcement has the responsibility of collection and disbursement of support payments. The non-custodial parent can directly pay the amount in the following forms:

• Electronic fund transfers
• Money orders
• Checks

If an Income Withholding Order exists, the employer of the non-custodial parent collects the payment from the pay check and dispatches it to the Division.

The services provided by the Division of Child Support Enforcement are mentioned below:

• To establish the legal father of a child
• To provide service in order to modify support orders
• To establish a legal child maintenance t order
• To find the non-custodial parent
• To maintain a record of payments distributed and received

Enforcement of Child Support in Delaware Divorce

The Division of Child Support Enforcement is authorized to enforce and collect child subsidy payments. If a non-custodial parent does not adhere to the support order, the enforcement measures mentioned below can be applied to gather past due and regular payments:

• Withholding of Unemployment Compensation
• Interception of Federal and State tax refunds
• If the non-custodial parent owes 2,500 USD or more, then passport is denied to this parent
• Interception of lottery winnings in this state
• Suspension of the following licenses - professional, occupational, fishing, hunting and driver
• Orders are issued to the employer of the non-custodial parent to subtract support amount while paying the wages.
• Inclusion in the Federal Case Registry (this comprises of all child support cases that are managed by state IV-D child support agencies)
• The parent should cooperate with the court regarding the issue of arrest warrants (also called Capiases)
• The existence of child maintenance debt is disclosed to consumer reporting agencies. This impacts the non-custodial parent's rating.

Calculation of Child Support in Delaware Divorce

When the Family Court in this state calculates the amount of child maintenance, it takes into account the following information regarding both father and mother:

• General income
  • Whether it is in the form of wages or are they self-employed
  • Whether the payment is weekly, bi weekly, semi monthly, monthly and yearly
• Other income
  • Is there income from a second job?
  • Is there any other taxable income, inclusive of alimony?
  • All non taxable income
  • All the previous three incomes either yearly or monthly
• Tax information per year
  • What city tax is paid (in percentage)?
• What is the amount of alimony paid?
• The monthly deductions
  • Union dues
  • IRS qualified pension
  • Medical ins
  • Other
• The primary support need of the children
  • Number of dependent children not in this action
  • Monthly other expenses of the child
  • Monthly child care expenses
  • Number of children involved in this support action
• Parenting time adjustment percentage

Duration to obtain a Delaware Child Support order

• If the parent is residing in this state, less duration is needed. Usually, 3 months are required after the date of application to get a court date
• If the parent is outside this state, the case has to be dispatched to the other state. Hence, approximately 6 months to 1 year is essential to get the support order
• If the location of the non-custodial parent is not known, the Division of Child Support has to locate this parent. The time required for this step depends considerably on the data furnished by the applicant.
• If the parent resides in this state, usually 30 to 45 days are essential to locate the non-custodial parent.
• If the parent is outside this state, 3 to 6 months are necessary to find the non-custodial parent.

All the guidelines regarding child maintenance in Delaware divorce have been formed keeping in mind the well-being of the children. As parents, you should show your loyalty and willingness in contributing towards your child's development. This will definitely yield good results for you and your children.

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