Vermont Child Support

Divorce Papers > Divorce Child Support > Vermont Child Support

Every divorce brings with it a number of complications and issues. If some couples quarrel over property distribution, there are others who are worried about child support orders. One parent may think that he/she understands their children in a better way; whereas the other thinks that he/she can take care of their children. Often parents are unwilling to make financial contribution for the well-being of their kids. Thus laws and rules pertaining to this topic are chalked out and enforced. This is true about Vermont, located in the New England region in the United States. Vermont child support guidelines are used to determine the support amount that will be received by the non-custodial parent and spent to meet the basic requirements.

To receive or pay child support order, it is essential to understand the nuances of the child support process in Vermont. Here is some basic information that will help you in a number of ways.

The OCS (Office of Child Support) has the following responsibilities:

• Informing employers regarding wage withholding orders
• If any parents makes a request, then to present records of payments made and received
• Maintaining records of data related to parents, any other parties that are involved and child support accounts
• Giving out collections and disbursements of support
• Maintaining and providing any important information as specified by law

Services provided by the OCS

The OCS provides help to divorced parents in a number of ways. The services are:

• To establish paternity
• To establish a support order
• To modify an order
• To enforce and pay Support
• To locate a missing parent

Payments in Divorce Vermont Child Support

In this state, there are 3 ways by which support payments may be made:

• The employer of the non-custodial parent withholds the wages of this parent and dispatches this amount to the OCS Registry
• The non-custodial parent directly dispatches the support amount to the OCS Registry (this is possible if the court has waived wage withholding)
• The non-custodial parent directly dispatches the amount to the custodial parent. In this method, the OCS Registry is not involved. For this method, both the parents must make a request for it and the court should support it)

Modification of Divorce Vermont Child Support

The court takes into account any request for modification of the support order only when there exists an 'unanticipated, substantial and real alteration in the circumstances.'

Any parent is free to request for modification in the following conditions:

• A requirement has propped up that necessitates suspension of wage withholding.
• A custody change, health insurance change, expense of visitation change, job loss, disability or income alteration has taken place.
• Due to some changes, the child support may be incremented or decremented by 10 percent of the support calculated from the Vermont Child Support Guidelines.

When 3 years have passed by since the date on which the support order was issued or last modified, each parent is empowered to request a review. This is permissible though there is no unanticipated, substantial and real alteration in the circumstances.

Let us consider those custodial parents who are recipients of Medicaid or public assistance. In these cases, the OCS can request a modification at any moment due to gross alteration in conditions or any other reason.

Modification might be done with the help of a legal counsel or without a legal counsel. The latter is known as 'pro se modification.'

Enforcement of Vermont Child Support

The OCS follows 2 methods for enforcement of support orders.

• Requesting a court action
• Using administrative remedies (these are steps that can be taken in the absence of a court order)

In some cases, the OCS does not inform the parent prior to initiation of an action. One instance of such a method is that the OCS finds out an employer via national database match. Further, the OCS automatically issues an income withholding order to the employer.

However, if the enforcement method involves a court action, the OCS is bound to inform the parent beforehand. While enforcement is in progress, the OCS expects that the parent should keep this office aware of the latest alteration in circumstances or any agreement made that has an impact on the support amount.

Paying for your child's basic needs is your moral and legal duty. If you fail to perform this duty, it will be enforced on you by legal measures. It is wise to disburse the amount happily for the well-being of your child rather than involving yourself in any legal complications.

Divorce Papers