Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Child Support In Connecticut

The following information is intended to answer some of the more common questions regarding child support in Connecticut. This is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney, and is provided solely as general information. If you have questions, you may wish to consider consulting with an attorney.

How are Support Orders calculated?

The courts use mandatory guidelines to make fair and consistent child support orders.

• The Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines are state regulations which provide a mathematical formula to set the child support payment amount. The Guidelines use the combined income of the mother and the father and the number of children to set a child support amount.
• The court will also enter a medical insurance order for the minor children if it is available through an employer for a reasonable cost. The court may also order one or both parties to apply for, and maintain, medical. The guidelines also provide for the allocation of un-reimbursed medical costs between the parties.
• The guidelines also provide a mathematical formula for allocating qualified childcare costs between the parties.
• Judges and family support magistrates must follow the guidelines unless they make an exception in their ruling and tell you why they are ordering a different amount. These exceptions are called "deviations."

How do I enforce a Child Support Order?

The following three tolls can be used to enforce a child support order:

• Income Withholding - all child support orders may be collected through a court order to deduct money from the non-custodial parent's income (Income includes wages, overtime pay, worker's compensation, unemployment compensation, retirement benefits, etc.).
• Contempt - the court finds that the non-custodial parent willfully failed to obey the court order. A person found in contempt may be ordered to pay a lump sum of money. The person also can be sent to jail (incarcerated) until a certain sum of money is paid.
• License Suspension - the court finds the non-custodial parent failed to obey the court order and orders his or her driver's license, professional, occupational license, or recreational license suspended after 30 days.