Do I need a
lawyer to establish paternity or support?
What is the State Child Support
Enforcement System?
Are there advantages to
establishing paternity for my children?
Are there disadvantages to
establishing paternity?
How do I get help from the Support Enforcement
System?
What information do I need when I apply for help?
What if I don't know where he is?
Can he find out about me through Support Enforcement?
Once I know where he is, how do I prove he is the
father?
How much time do I have to bring a paternity action?
Child Support Guidelines
Can I get child support for
expenses that I had before this support was ordered?
How long will it take to do all this?
For more information
To collect child support from a father,
the following steps must be taken
1. The father must be
located.
2. There needs to be legal proof that he is the father (either by his
signing paternity papers, by a judge deciding that he is the father, or if you were
married to the father before the child was born or are married after
the child has been born).
3. A court case is started to get court orders of child support. This order
must then be enforced.
Do I need a lawyer to establish
paternity or support?
A court case is necessary to establish paternity (if it is not acknowledged
voluntarily) or support. You do not need to hire your own lawyer to do this,
however. The State's Child Support Enforcement System will bring the necessary case into
court if you ask them for help.
What is the State Child
Support Enforcement System?
Under federal law, each state must have a child support enforcement system to help
families get child support from the absent parent. The State receives millions of dollars
each year from the federal government to operate this program. The program is both for
families who receive state assistance (TFA) and for those who do not.
Services under the program are automatic if you get TFA. If you do not receive TFA, you
can apply for and receive these services at no charge. The program can help you: (1)
locate the father (2) establish paternity (3) establish support (4) enforce support (5)
modify support
To find the number and address of the office in your area, call 1-800-228-KIDS ( State
Child Support Hotline).
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Voluntary Paternity
Establishment: If you and the father agree that you are the parents, you can
establish paternity by signing paternity acknowledgment forms. The Support
Enforcement System, the hospital, prenatal clinics, and other sites approved by DSS can
give you the forms. Once these papers are signed, the paternity is viewed as being
legal. The papers do not have to be filed in court to be considered legal: CAUTION: It is very difficult to change
paternity acknowledgment once the forms are signed. Don't sign if you have even the
slightest question that someone else could be the father. Be sure
you understand the consequences before you sign.
Are there advantages to
establishing paternity for my children?
Once a man is legally determined to be the father of your child, he must pay child support
for that child. He must also pay for medical coverage if it is available at a reasonable
cost, and in some cases, he must help pay for the cost of child care. Also, once paternity
is established, your child could inherit from the father after he dies and your child
would be entitled to receive Social Security dependent's benefits if he dies or becomes
disabled. The child also benefits from knowing who his relatives are. Not only is there a
psychological benefit, but it could prove very useful to have access to medical histories
of relatives.
Are there
disadvantages to establishing paternity?
Custody or visitation can become an issue if paternity is established.
Legally, once paternity is established, the mother and father have equal rights to
custody.
It is recommended that you get legal advice as soon as possible after paternity is
established. If custody or visitation becomes an issue, the State's Support Enforcement
System may not be able to protect your rights and you may need a lawyer.
How do I get help from the Support
Enforcement System?
If you get TFA, you already have a child support worker--ask your State worker for the
name and number of this person. Your child support worker will be in charge of your child
support case. The State will no longer keep the child support in exchange for welfare
benefits. Basically, the way it works is the State will not count the first $50 of child
support. However, after that $50, your TFA amount will be reduced dollar for each extra
dollar in child support that you get. (For example: if you get $125 in child support, your
TFA benefit will be reduced by $75).
If you are not on TFA, you will need to apply at the local office of the State
Bureau of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Social Services. Call the Child
Support Hotline at 1-800-228-KIDS to get the address & phone of the nearest office. If
you call they will send you an application for help within 5 days. If you go to the
office, they'll take your application that day.
Work with your worker. Whether or not you receive TFA, your child support worker will be able to help you better if you stay in touch and provide updated information.
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What information do I need when I apply
for help?
The more information you have, the better. But the State should try to help you even if
you only have the father's name. The most important information is his social security
number and the name and address of his current employer. Other useful information would be
his date and place of birth, his car's make and model, school attended, military service,
and dates of arrest or time in jail.
What if I don't know where he is?
Once you apply for help with Support Enforcement, the State is required to try to find the
father for you. There is a state and federal parent location service which the State must
use if you apply for Support Enforcement services. The State has access to many records
that a private person does not, such as labor bureau records, Social Security records,
motor vehicle records and federal tax information.
Can he find out about me through Support
Enforcement?
No. Support Enforcement may not give him information about you or give you
information about him. Support Enforcement can only use the information it gets to
help enforce your order. If you are worried about your safety if information about you is
given to the father, be sure to let Support Enforcement know.
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Once
I know where he is, how do I prove he is the father?
There must be a legal determination that a man is the father of a child before he can be
ordered to pay child support. Here are a few ways to prove it:
If you were married to the child's father when the child was born, or if
you marry the father after the child was born, it is legally presumed that
he is the father of the child. He can be ordered to pay child support if he is separated
from you, even if you are not divorced.
If you were never married to him, the State will have to start paternity
proceedings against the child's father. The process starts with the State contacting the
father and asking him if he is willing to agree that he is the father of the child. The
State can offer DNA testing if he is not sure. (See below for more on DNA).
The court will usually order DNA tests to decide if he is the father. A pain-free DNA sample is taken from you, the child, and the father by simply wiping the inside of the mouth with a swab. DNA tests compare the patterns in genes of you, the child, and the father. They can determine with a very high degree of probability (over 99%) that a man is or is not the child's father. When the results of the DNA test come back, if they show that he is likely to be the father, he may agree to sign an acknowledgment. If he does not, there would be a trial at which the judge (or a jury) would decide whether or not he is the child's father. Because DNA testing is so accurate, trials are not usually necessary.
How
much time do I have to bring a paternity action?
A paternity action can be brought any time until the child turns 18. However, if
you were on state assistance, you can only get back due child support going back three
years, so it is better not to wait a long time. If you were not on assistance, you can go
back for any period that you did not receive support. However, the court is not obligated
to award back support.
If paternity is established by a court, the court will usually establish a support order at the same time. The order for child support will be based on the father's ability to pay under Connecticut's Child Support Guidelines (see below).
A child support order can also be established in a separate court proceeding once paternity is established. The father may agree to pay a certain amount. This agreement would be filed in court and become a court order. If he does not agree, the state will serve the father with a support petition and the court will order him to pay a certain amount, based on the Child Support Guidelines (see below). The court must order that the child support be withheld from his pay. If you are not on TFA, and you are using the Support Enforcement System, the money will be sent by the employer to the State, and the State will send the money to you. Support Enforcement will keep track of support paid.
Child
Support Guidelines: The court will generally order that the man pay about 22-24%
of his net income (take-home pay) to support one child, about 33-35% to support two
children, and about 40-42% for three. The exact amount depends on several things including
your net income and health insurance premiums for the child. The guidelines must be
followed unless a judge finds an important reason not to follow them.
Can I get child support
for expenses that I had before this support was ordered?
Yes. The father can be ordered to pay expenses for a period of time before the case was
brought to court as long as he had the ability to pay during that time. If you were on
state assistance, you can only claim back due child support for three years. If you were
not on state assistance, you can claim back due child support for any period that you did
not receive support. However, the court is not obligated to award you this back support.
You will need to show the court receipts
or other proof that you had to spend this money to support the child(ren). If you received
state assistance during that time, the State will also seek an order for this earlier
period to pay the state back.
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How long will it take to do all this?
A child support case can be started very quickly, but it can also take a very long time if
the father is hard to find, if he does not agree that he is the father, or if he does not
agree to pay child support. However, there are time limits on how long the Support
Enforcement office is supposed to take to do their work. If you think your case is taking
too long, talk to your support enforcement worker. If you are still not satisfied, call
Statewide Legal Services.
Statewide Legal Services: (860) 344-0380 (Central Connecticut and Middletown area) 1-800-453-3320 (All other regions)
This document was produced by the Legal Assistance Resource Center of CT in cooperation with CT Legal Services, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, New Haven Legal Assistance Association, and Statewide Legal Services.
The information in this document is based on the laws in CT as of December 2004. We hope that the information is helpful. It is not intended as legal advice for an individual situation. If you need further help and have not done so already, please call Statewide Legal Services (see above) or contact an attorney.Copyright: December 2004.