This section answers common questions about child support in Connecticut. There are 3 sections:

• The parent who pays support
• The parent who gets support
• Paternity (who the legal father is)

For more information, talk to a lawyer or call the Child Support Hotline at 1-800-228-KIDS.

Click on a topic:

The parent who pays child support

• How does the court decide the support amount?
• What happens if I don't pay?
• What if I can't afford the payments?
• I am behind on my child support payments. What should I do?
• A collection agency keeps contacting me. What should I do?
• What is contempt of court?
• Can they suspend my driver's or professional license if I don't pay child support?

The parent who gets support

• Can I get child support?
• How much child support can I get?
• What if the other parent and I agree on an amount?
• Can I still get child support if I get cash aid from the state?
• What if I have questions about the support amount?
• Can I ask the court to change the child support order?
• How long will it take to get child support?
• Can I get child support for the time period before there was a support order?
• What if I don't know where the other parent is?
• What if the other parent does not pay the support that the court ordered?
• Can the other parent ask for visitation or custody?
• Will SES give my contact information to the other parent?

Paternity

• What does "establish paternity" mean?
• How does paternity get established?
• What if paternity is not established?
• Do I need a lawyer to establish paternity?
• Is there a deadline to try to establish paternity?

The parent who pays child support

How does the court decide the support amount?

The court uses Connecticut's Child Support Guidelines to decide your support amount. But the court sometimes changes this amount depending on the payer's situation.

To find the "guideline" amount that the court will probably order you to pay, look for your income on the online chart on pages 10-14 at: http://www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/ChildSupport/2005CSguidelines.pdf

What happens if I don't pay?

If you don't pay court-ordered child support, Support Enforcement Services (SES) can collect what you owe from your:

• Paycheck,
• Tax refunds,
• Lottery winnings,
• Bank accounts, and
• Payments from public contracts

SES can also:

• Report you to credit bureaus,
• Put a lien on your property,
• Stop you from getting a passport, and
• Send you to court for contempt of court.

What if I can't afford the payments?

You can ask the court or Support Enforcement Services (SES) to lower your payment amount. To do that:

• Ask Support Enforcement Services (SES) to review your support order.  This link has a form to make this request: http://www.jud.ct.gov/childsupport/Internet_R_and_A_Request.pdf
•  Or, ask the court to change the order.

To learn how to do this, read How to Change Your Child Support Order.

I am behind on my child support payments. What should I do?

Pay as much as you can, and try to make up the support payments you missed. Keep making payments, even if you cannot pay the full amount. That shows the court and support enforcement services that you are trying to obey the child support order.

I didn't know about the child support case until it was over. What should I do?

Talk to a lawyer right away. If you cannot afford a lawyer, contact Statewide Legal Services.

How do I find out if I was ordered to pay child support?

• Ask at the nearest Superior Court, or
• Visit the Judicial Branch website.

A collection agency keeps contacting me. What should I do?

You have several options:

• Send the collection agency a letter that says, "Do not contact me any more." Keep a copy.
• If they have threatened you, call the Department of Consumer Protection at 1-800-842-2649. Or, ask a lawyer for help.
• For information and advice about how to handle your child support payments, call the Child Support Hotline at 1-800-228-KIDS.
• The Child Support Hotline can give you the phone number of the Support Enforcement office handling your case. You can call them and explain your situation.

Can the collection agency take me to court?

No. But if the collection agency does not get money from you, they will send your case to the state. That means a court can punish you for not following the child support order.

What is contempt of court?

Contempt of court means you disobeyed a court order on purpose. The court will find you in contempt if:

• You were served a notice about the court hearing for your child support case, but did not go,
• You had a chance to tell your side of the story, and
• The court decides that you could afford to pay child support, but you decided not to.

Important! If your income is very low, and you face jail time, the court will appoint a lawyer for you.

Can the court punish me for contempt?

Yes. If the court finds you in contempt, it will make an order to make sure that you pay child support in the future. For example, the court can:

• Send you to jail until you pay a certain amount of child support, or
• Suspend your driver's or professional license unless you pay a certain amount of child support within 30 days.

What if I want a lawyer to help me, but can't afford one?

Ask the judge to appoint a lawyer for you.

Can they suspend my driver's or professional license if I don't pay child support?

Yes, if:

• You were served a notice about the court hearing that says your license may be suspended,
• The court decides that you could afford to pay child support, but you decided not to, and
• The court decides that you can afford to obey the license suspension order.

Will the court give me some time to pay the support before suspending my license?

Yes. You will have 30 days to pay the support before your license is suspended.

If you still do not pay, the state has 45 more days to suspend your license. If your license doesn't get suspended during those 45 days, the original court order is not valid. They would have to ask for another order.

The parent who gets support

Can I get child support?

Yes, if:

• You have custody of the child, or the child lives with you,
• You know where the other parent is,
• There is legal proof that the man is the father (proof of paternity), and
• A court orders child support.

How much child support can I get?

The court decides the support amount based on:

• Your income,
• The other parent's income, and
• Connecticut's Child Support Guidelines.

For net income below $1000 per week, the supporting parent must pay:

• 22-24% net income (take-home pay) for 1 child
• 33-35% net income for 2 children
• 40-42% net income for 3 children

The court may order more support for child care or health care expenses.

What if the other parent and I agree on an amount?

The court still must make a child support order for the amount you agreed on. Otherwise, it cannot be enforced.

Can I still get child support if I get cash aid from the state?

Yes. If you get state cash aid and child support, the state will send you the first $50 of each monthly child support payment. This $50 will not reduce your state cash amount. The state keeps the rest of the support payment.

You will get the full support amount when you stop receiving cash aid.

What if I have questions about the support amount?

Ask your state aid worker for the name and number of your child support worker. Your child support worker can answer your questions.

Can I ask the court to change the child support order?

1. Yes. You can ask the Support Enforcement Services (SES) to review your support order.  This link has a form to make this request: http://www.jud.ct.gov/childsupport/Internet_R_and_A_Request.pdf

2. Or, Ask the court to change the order. To learn how to do this, read How to Change Your Child Support Order.

How long will it take to get child support?

It depends. A child support case can take a long time if:

• The other parent is hard to find,
• The man says he is not the father, or
• The other parent does not want to pay child support.

If you think your case is taking too long, talk to your Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) officer. The officer is supposed to complete the case in a certain amount of time.

What does the supporting parent pay for?

The parent paying child support usually pays:

• Basic child support
• Health insurance, if s/he can get it at a reasonable cost, and
• Child care costs, in some cases.

Can I get child support for the time period before there was a support order?

Yes, as long as the other parent could afford to pay child support for that time period.

To ask for back child support, you must give the court proof of what you spent to support the child.

If you were getting cash aid from the state during that time, the state will ask the court to order the other parent to pay back the aid.

What if I don't know where the other parent is?

BCSE can help you find the other parent. They can also help you get a court order for support. You must give them as much information as you can about the other parent.

To contact BCSE, go to the nearest Department of Social Services office or call the Child Support Hotline at 1-800-228-KIDS.

What if the other parent does not pay the support that the court ordered?

Ask Support Enforcement Services (SES) for help. SES enforces child support payments. That means they can collect support from the other parent's:

• Paycheck
• Tax refunds
• Lottery winnings
• Bank accounts
• Payments for public contracts

SES can also:

• Put a lien on the other parent's property,
• Report the other parent to credit bureaus,
• Suspend the other parent's driver's or professional license,
• Stop the other parent from getting a passport, and
• Bring the other parent to court for contempt.

To ask SES for help, call 1-800-228-5437 to make an appointment. SES will ask you to:

• Bring a copy of the child support order
• Fill out an application
• Sign a sworn statement that says how much child support the other parent owes you.

Keep payment records: If you have not been keeping track of the other parent's child support payments, start now!  Knowing how much the other parent owes makes it easier to collect it.

Can the other parent ask for visitation or custody?

Yes. Even if there are having problems collecting support, both parents have the right to ask for visitation and custody. The court usually decides custody and visitation separately.

Will SES give my contact information to the other parent?

No. SES will only use your information to enforce the child support order.

Important! Tell SES if you are worried about your or your children's safety.

Paternity

What does "establish paternity" mean?

Establishing paternity means identifying the child's legal father. A legal father has certain rights and responsibilities. Child support is one of the responsibilities.

And the child of a legal father has the right to:

• Inherit from the legal father, and
• Get Social Security benefits if the legal father dies or becomes disabled.

How does paternity get established?

For the man to be the child's legal father, one or more of these must be proven true:

• If you were married to the child's father when the child was born or you got married after the child was born, it is legally presumed that he is the child's father, or
• Both parents sign a paper saying he is the father. This form is called an Acknowledgment of Paternity, or 
• A court decides that the man is the legal father.

What if paternity is not established?

BCSE will try to establish paternity. They will ask the man if he agrees that he is the father. If he agrees, they will ask him to sign paternity papers.

If he does not agree, BCSE will start a court case to establish paternity. The judge will probably order a DNA test.

If the DNA test shows the man is probably the father, the court will ask him to sign paternity papers. If the man refuses to sign, the case will go to trial, but this is very unusual.

If the DNA test shows he is not the father, he will not have to pay child support.

Do I need a lawyer to establish paternity?

No. If you need help, BCSE will go to court for you.

Is there a deadline to try to establish paternity?

You may file a paternity case any time before the child turns 18.

This pamphlet was produced by the Legal Assistance Resource Center of CT in cooperation with CT Legal Services, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, and Statewide Legal Services.

The information in this pamphlet is based on the laws in CT as of April 2012. We hope that the information is helpful. It is not intended as legal advice for an individual situation. If you need further help and have not done so already, please call Statewide Legal Services (see above) or contact an attorney.