Child Support

questions & answers

Question: who do i make the actual check im sending to the child support clearinghouse out to? my ex-wife? the clearinghouse itself? the court?

Answer:

The answers to your questions can be found in the Child Support Article.

If a parent is ordered to pay child support, where should the payment be made?

In most cases, the court will instruct the payor (obligor) to send the child support payment to the Support Payment Clearinghouse. The payment will be recorded and a check issued to the payee (obligee). If the payor is employed, the payments will eventually be processed by Wage Assignment.

 

Should the parent ordered to pay child support make payments directly to the other parent?

No. If the parent does not send payments through the Support Payment Clearinghouse, the court may consider those payments as "gifts" and may not credit those payments toward the child support obligation. A permanent record is provided by the Support Payment Clearinghouse if a dispute arises later.