FAQs
Definitions
1. Q: What is child support?
2. Q: What is an arrears?
A: Payment for the support of the children of divorced or separated parents while the children are minors.
A: Child support arrears is the amount you owe after the court enters a child support order. Once the court enters a child support order, the noncustodial parent is obligated to pay whatever is stated in the support order.
3. Q: What is a child support order?
A: Child support is the financial support paid by parents to support a child or children of whom they do not have full custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily, by court order or by an administrative agency.
4. Q: What is a custodial parent?
A: A custodial parent is a primary parent who shares a home with the child.
5. Q: What is a noncustodial parent?
A: The non-custodial parent in a couple who are separated or divorced is the parent who does not live with the children.
6. Q: What is a judgement?
A: There are a few ways for the custodial parent to collect money from the noncustodial parent. Often the custodial parent may go to court and ask a judge to issue a judgement for the amount of the arrears which can be used to get paid.
7. Q: What is a lien?
A: A child support lien is a hold placed on property, such as land and cars, until past-due child support is paid. These liens will be placed without a court hearing. Liens must be paid off or released before the parent can sell the property.
8. What is a modification?
A: Once a child support order or agreement is secured, the payment amount can be increased or decreased under certain circumstances. If a parent’s earning ability or a child’s financial needs have changed, either parent can request a modification with the court.
Questions About Filing For Child Support
9. Q: What does the Project Child Support Filing Program provide that is not provided by the Office of Child Support Enforcement to collect child support?
A: The Filing Program provides custodial parents with the information to file for child support through the Office of Child Support Enforcement within a custodial parents region. The Filing Program was created to help custodial parents file to receive child support through the Office of Child Support Enforcement.
10. Q: Why is there a Filing Program, when someone can just go straight to their regional Office of Child Support Enforcement to file to receive child support?
A: The Filing Program was created to assist the more than 25 million custodial parents that are owed child support to receive a structured child support order through their regional Office of Child Support Enforcement. Many custodial parents don’t know where their regional office is located or what information and documents they need to bring, so the Filing Program provides the instructions, and locations to assist in the filing for child support processes.
11. Q: Can a Custodial Parent be part of the Collection Program after receiving the services of your Filing Program?
A: Yes; once a parent has a child support order and is owed more than three (3) months of arrears, a custodial parent can be part of the Collection Program.
Collections Program
12. Q: What does the Project Child Support Collection Program provide that is not provided by the Office of Child Support Enforcement to collect child support?
A: The Collection program provides the following services not provided by the Office of Child Support Enforcement:
- Private Investigative Services to Locate Noncustodial Parents and their Assets. Custodial parents are required to provide child support agencies an accurate address to enable child support enforcement agencies to serve noncustodial parents with child support documents.
- Preparation of Legal Documents to Seize and Liquidate Noncustodial Parents Assets to Pay Arrears. The Office Child Support Enforcement collects child support through salary garnishes, income tax refunds, lottery winnings, and direct payments by noncustodial parents. Custodial parents can hire private attorneys to file motions and lawsuits to seize and liquidate noncustodial parents assets to pay child support arrears. The legal document provided by the attorneys through the Project Child Support Collection Program enable a custodial parent to get an order to enforce their child support order.
- Collection Services that Include Seizures and Liquidation of Noncustodial Parent’s Assets to Pay Arrears and Expenses. The Office of Child Support Enforcement require custodial parents to hire and contract their own attorneys and collection agencies to seize and liquidate noncustodial parents assets. The Project Child Support Collection Program includes the services of collecting child support and refunding all service fees through payment arrangements by noncustodial parents or by seizing and liquidating noncustodial parent’s assets.
- Apprehension Services to Hunt, Locate and Extradite Noncustodial Parents with Child Support Warrants. The Project Child Support Collection Program includes preparing a motion to request an arrest warrant be issued for contempt of the child support order issued by the custodial parent’s state court, if a warrant has not been issued. Once the warrant has been issued and is currently active, rather than wait until the noncustodial parent is arrested by chance, the Collection Program includes contracting a licensed fugitive recovery agency to hunt down, apprehend and transport the noncustodial parent to the state that issued the arrest warrant to speed up the collection process.
- Refund of All Service Fees. The motions or lawsuits prepared by through the Project Child Support Collections Program include the repayment of all fees and expenses incurred by custodial parents by the noncustodial parent. The refund of all fees are paid to custodial parents proportionally with the collection of child support arrears, service fees and the collection fees included in the order granted by the court order that are obtained through filed motions or lawsuits.
13. Q: What are the requirement for a custodial parent to receive the services of the Project Child Support Collection Program?
A: A custodial parent must have an active child support order and must be owed at least than three (3) months of arrears child support arrears. Noncustodial parents must have verifiable income or assets, which can be determined by the investigative services provided through the Project Child Support Collection Program.
14. Q: What documents must a custodial parent provide with the Collection Program?
A: Custodial parents must provide a completed and signed agreement with Project Child Support, a copy of the most recent child support order, and a copy of a statement that includes the most current arrears. If an arrest warrant has been issued and is active, a copy of any documents that confirm an active arrest warrant must be provided.
15. Q: What are the success rates of the Collection Program?
A: The Collection Program’s services are provided by the top rated collection agency since 2007, which has an average collections success rate of 75% on accounts with court orders, and collects an average of 81% of all required funds and fees.
16. Q: What type of information is provided in the noncustodial parent investigation report?
A: The investigation report contains the noncustodial parent’s addresses used, assets, licenses, filings, credit applications, utilities, use of social security number, social security numbers used, income stated on credit applications, income stated by employers, addresses used to purchase tickets, and much more. Additional searches are available to determine the noncustodial parents income, but may alert the noncustodial parent and require a client release form to be completed.
17. Q: Should a custodial parent continue the Project Child Support Collection Program if the noncustodial parent’s income or assets can’t be determined?
A: Yes, the Project Child Support Collection Program enables custodial parents to receive a court order to enforce the collection of child support order and all fees, which can be enforced whenever a noncustodial parent’s assets are discovered.
18. Q: How long will the collections be attempted by the Collection Program to collect a custodial parent’s child support arrears and fees?
A: The Collection Program will attempt to collect a custodial parent’s child support arrears and fees for 12 months from the date the services agreements are completed and provided with a copy of the child support order and confirmation of the arrears.
19. Q: Can a custodial parent use their own attorney with the Project Child Support Collection Program?
A: Yes, the Project Child Support Collection Program enables clients to use their own attorney to make modifications to the legal documents prepared by our attorneys through the Project Child Support Collection Program. Then Project Child Support will file the legal documents with the court for the required court appearances. The court order enables Project Child Support the ability to provide all of the services offered through our Collection Program.
20. Q:Can I enroll in the Project Child Support Collection Program if I don’t have a child support order, and need to locate the noncustodial parent?
A: Yes, the Project Child Support Collection Program is available to custodial parents that need the investigation services to locate the noncustodial parents of their child(ren) to assist the Office of Child Support Enforcement in determining the location, assets, and income. Once the background check is completed, the custodial parent must receive a child support order before any additional services can be provided.