Establishing a support order

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If a court order for child support does not yet exist, and the paying parent is located, the child support agency will seek an order from the court. The court will set the support amount by using a formula set by law which takes into consideration the number of children, incomes of the parents, and custody and visitation times and, if appropriate, any special circumstances allowed by law. If the paying parent's income is not known, income will be presumed at a rate set by law that will provide for the basic needs of the children.

The guideline support amount will be increased if the children in the case have special needs, such as: child care, uninsured health care costs, special education needs, etc.

The order will also include wage withholding and health insurance provisions.

For more information about how child support is calculated and a general guideline of support amounts, please go to our Child Support Amount page.