Child Support Recovery in a State or Federal Court

Parents who are owed child support may seek to recover unpaid child support payments. There are several reasons why a parent would seek to recover child support payments. Here is some information about recovering child support payments in a state or federal court:

Child Support Recovery in State Court

Parents seeking to recover child support payments in state court should prepare the following prior to a court appearance:

• Evidence that the custodial parent attempted to collect child support
• Evidence that the child support obligor has not paid child support for an extended period of time
• If the parents were not married and the child support obligor is the child's father, the child's mother should present evidence that the father was aware of the paternity of the child.

Child Support Recovery in Federal Court

Parents may only be able to recover child support in federal court in certain limited circumstances. A federal court will consider the following:

• Whether any remedy is available to the parent in state court
• Whether the child support obligor has established a habit of moving to different states to avoid a child support obligation
• Whether the child support obligor attempted to hide his/her whereabouts to avoid a child support obligation

Parents who are seeking to recover child support payments in federal court should provide evidence of the following prior to a court appearance:

• The parent who was obligated to pay child support willfully did not pay
• The debt has been unpaid for at least a year or the parent owes at least $5,000
• The child lives in a different state than the parent who is obligated to pay child support

To request back child support payments, you may want to refer to your specific state's child support enforcement agency.