Child Support

FREQUENTLY ASKED CHILD SUPPORT QUESTIONS UNDER MASSACHUSETTS LAW

1. If I file for a divorce and our children are living with me, will I be able to get child support from my spouse while the divorce action is pending, or will I have to wait until the divorce becomes final?

ANSWER: Generally speaking, after a divorce action is filed, either of the parties to the action may ask the court to enter “temporary orders” pertaining to the custody of the children, visitation, and child support. These temporary orders will remain in place until the divorce is finalized.

2. If I am not ready to file for divorce, but I want to seek child support or alimony from my spouse, may I do this in Massachusetts?

ANSWER: Yes. You may file a Complaint for Support and seek financial support for you and your children, as well as medical insurance.

3. If the father of my children and I are not married, may I ask a Massachusetts court to order him to pay child support?

ANSWER: Yes. If paternity has been established, you may file a Complaint for Support and seek child support. If paternity has not been established, please refer to the web page entitled “Paternity.”

4. How is child support calculated in Massachusetts?

ANSWER: In Massachusetts, generally speaking, each party must prepare a financial statement and submit it to the court each time they are in court. The court then uses the information in the financial statements and applies the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines to calculate the amount of child support ordered. Deviations from the guidelines occur in unusual circumstances, or that application of the child Support Guidelines to the parties’ current income deviates from the current child support order.

5. Can I get the amount of child support ordered changed?

ANSWER: Yes. After a judgment for child support enters, either parent can file a Complaint for Modification and seek to increase or decrease the amount of child support. However, generally speaking, the parent filing the action must prove that a “material and substantial change in circumstances” has occurred since the date of the judgment that ordered child support, or that application of the Child Support Guidelines to the parties’ current income deviates from the current child support order.

6. What is a “material and substantial change in circumstances” that would allow a parent to seek an increase or decrease in child support?

ANSWER: First, the change in circumstances must have occurred since the date that the current child support amount was ordered. Examples of change in circumstances include a significant increase or decrease in the payor or payee’s income, loss of employment, significant increase health insurance costs, and significant ongoing uninsured medical expenses.

7. May I get my child support order changed retroactively back to the date that the change in circumstances occurred?

ANSWER: A child support order may be changed retroactively back to the date that the Complaint for Modification is filed with the court, but cannot be changed retroactively to a time before the Complaint for Modification was filed.

8. Can a court decrease the amount of past due child support owed.

ANSWER: No. But, as stated in No. 7 above, a Court may decrease (or increase) the amount of child support owed that accumulates after the Complaint for Modification is filed with the court.

9. Can a person be jailed for failing to pay child support?

ANSWER: Yes. If the payor is found in contempt of the child support order for failing to pay and the court finds that the payor has had the financial ability to pay, the payor can be jailed for a set period of time or until the contempt is “cured” by paying a certain amount of child support ordered by the judge.

10. If the parent of my child has failed to pay child support and I bring him/her to court, will s/he have to pay for my attorney fees?

ANSWER: Under most circumstances, if the payor of the child support is found to be in contempt for failing to pay child support, the Court may order the payor to pay for your reasonable attorney fees and costs associated with bring the action for contempt.

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