Child support in Wisconsin should be paid until the child turns 18. The order that a court issues requiring the payment of child support may state a different date when support comes to an end, and in that case, the court order determines what should happen.
What a person should not do is stop making child support payments without a court order that authorizes the end of the obligation. If a person believes that their child support order should be modified, for example, because circumstances have changed, they must first go to court to request modification of the court order.
Or, if a person believes that the facts justify terminating the child support obligation, e.g., because the child now lives with the parent paying the support to the other, they should also go to court. A local attorney in Wisconsin should be able to help a person with this.
When Is Child Support Ordered?
In some cases, the duty to pay child support arises from a Wisconsin divorce, as noted above. Or it may arise from a legal separation. A court may issue a child support order at the end of a paternity suit when the father of a child who is not married to the child’s mother seeks custody or visitation. Or a mother who is not married to her child’s father may ask a court to order the father to pay child support.
Whatever the type of case in which a child support order is made, as noted above a child support order is legally binding on the parent who is ordered to pay support. There are negative consequences and penalties for failing to pay child support when a court in Wisconsin orders it.
In Wisconsin, child support payments are made by a parent who does not have custody to the parent who does have custody. In calculating child support, a Wisconsin court refers to the state’s support guidelines, as noted above. A custodial parent does not pay support because it is assumed that they pay financial support for their child as a natural consequence of the fact that the child lives with them.
In making decisions about child support, a Wisconsin court considers the following factors:
- The child’s best interest standard and what would serve the best interest of the child
- The type of custody arrangement that the parents have, e.g., whether it is joint or sole
- The age of the child or children on whose behalf the support is paid
- The total number of children each of the parents has
- The income of both parents after deductions
- Additional childcare expenses.
In some circumstances, a noncustodial parent may also have to pay retroactive child support in Wisconsin. For example, the child might have lived with one parent while their divorce was in progress, and the parent who did not have custody did not pay any support. If that is the case, a court might order the noncustodial parent to pay child support for this past period of time when the divorce is finalized.
How Is a Child Support Award Enforced?
Local child support agencies in counties in Wisconsin monitor cases to ensure that parents ordered to pay child support comply with their obligations. Federal guidelines require a local child support agency to take action in cases when a payer is more than one month behind in their payments.
A child support agency usually begins with letters to the paying parent in an attempt to collect past-due support before any other enforcement actions begin. If this effort is not successful, other measures used are as follows:
- Charging interest on support payments that are past due
- Increasing the amount that the agency withholds from a person’s paycheck
- Setting up a payment plan
- Intercepting tax refunds
- Denying loans, grants, or passports
- Placing liens on property.
How Can I Avoid a Child Support Increase?
A person may be curious as to whether the law entitles them to a change in their child support award. If this is the case, they may want to talk to a Wisconsin family law attorney to determine what their potential obligation could be.
It is important to note that the Wisconsin child support guidelines do not automatically adjust an award of child support. A parent who wants an increase or a decrease would have to petition the court to modify their support order. Another possible approach is for the two parents to negotiate an increase or decrease.
A parent who pays child support might benefit from talking about Wisconsin child support law with a Wisconsin family law attorney.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
There are some situations in which a person might be able to end their child support obligation and get a court to do so. For example, if the child in question should start living with the noncustodial parent, that parent should go to court and ask for a change. They would no longer need to pay child support to the parent who has become the noncustodial parent. This is one of several reasons to close a child support case.
One thing a person does not want to do is to just stop paying child support unless they are confident that, legally, their obligation to pay it has come to an end. They want to go to court and have the court modify the amount of child support they pay or order it to end.
Generally, in Wisconsin, a child support obligation terminates if any of the following events take place:
- The child dies.
- The child is legally emancipated.
- A court terminates a parent’s rights.
- The child becomes self-supporting, and the custodial parent relinquishes parental control.
- The child reaches the age of 18 or 19 if the child is still in high school when they turn 18.
The unemployment of the parent who pays child support might justify ending the support obligation under some circumstances. If a person should lose their job and it is beyond their power to land other employment, then they would need to petition the court to modify the child support immediately.
If a person becomes unemployed voluntarily, they should not expect an adjustment of their support obligation. In Wisconsin, a person is expected to use any unemployment payments to contribute to paying child support.
The job loss would have to be significant and lasting. For example, the person may have been injured or now suffers from a disability that has a significant effect on their earning capacity. The person would want to seek modification of their child support obligation in this case.
It would be important to act promptly if a change in circumstances makes a person believe that their child support obligation should be modified or ended. If a person delays, the child support obligation would continue and a court might not be able to excuse any debt for past due support payments after the debt is incurred.
Do Child Support Payments End Automatically?
A valid court order may state when child support should come to an end, e.g., because the child in question reaches the age of 18 or 19 if the child is in high school when they turn 18.
This does not happen automatically, however. The child support agency in which the paying parent lives may contact the parent and then move to end the child support obligation officially in court.
However, in the end, the burden is on the parents to make sure child support terminates at the appropriate time. If the county child support agency does not do anything on behalf of the parent, the parent may need to file a motion in court to get a court order terminating child support.
How Can I Get My Child Support Arrears Dismissed?
Sometimes, a person may fall behind on their basic child support obligations. If a noncustodial parent who pays child support owes unpaid support when child support ends, they remain responsible for paying off the arrears. The order for the unpaid amount may still be enforced. The debt for past unpaid support is not eliminated.
Under certain limited circumstances, a court might relieve a person of their obligation to pay past-due child support. A person would have to go to court and make a motion to dismiss child support arrears. However, it can be difficult to escape a debt for past due child support.
Do I Need a Lawyer for Help with Terminating Child Support?
You may have reached the date on which your child support payment should end, or you may want to change the amount because of a change in circumstances. LegalMatch.com can put you in touch with a Wisconsin child support lawyer who can analyze your case and help you make any changes to your support order that may fit your new life circumstances.
