Alaska Child Support

Monthly obligations should not be claimed on your state or federal level tax returns. Paying parents will not receive any deductions for this financial responsibility, and receiving parents can’t use the funds as a source of income on returns.

Because these payments are non-deductible and not considered income, they won’t affect taxes in any way. They are considered tax-neutral for the purposes of reporting taxes.

Your payments will be taken after tax has already been applied to the money even when you are under an income withholding order.

Alaska’s Child Support Services Division can request an interception of funds from the IRS when they are due to give a refund to the non-paying parent.

Parents can establish paternity voluntarily by signing a form at the hospital when the child is born. Otherwise, the Child Support Services Division can establish paternity through a DNA test. Alaskan courts may also establish a legal father through a court order.

A father who isn’t listed on the birth certificate won’t have any legal rights to the child, so it’s important to establish this fact as quickly as possible.

If the mother is currently married to another man, then only the mother and husband can petition the court. The biological father will need to file jointly with the mother to establish paternity in a divorce case. If the mother isn’t married, then potential fathers have a right to establish paternity in court.

When the father can’t participate in the case, establishing paternity can be difficult. If you have evidence to prove paternity, then you should contact an attorney for further assistance in legally establishing the deceased as the father in court.

Without the mother’s DNA sample, courtrooms and agencies will have difficult legally establishing the father. If the mother isn’t married, then potential fathers can seek out a court hearing to establish paternity. The court may implore the mother to give a DNA sample.

In Alaska, an action to establish paternity by the parent must be initiated before the child reaches the age of majority which is 18-years-old.

Support may be modified when there has been a significant change in the parenting plan or when there has been a 15 percent change in the amount of support ordered.

While appropriate obligation amounts are determined by Alaskan law, these amounts are subject to modification based on the child’s or parent’s needs. To request a modification on a current order, parents must file a Motion to Modify with an Alaskan court. It costs $75 to file this motion.

An appeal of a child support order would be a review by the Alaska Supreme Court. No new evidence will be accepted in these cases, and parents will need to file for an appeal shortly after the order is originally entered into.

Hiring an attorney is not necessary when pursuing a modification request, but an experienced legal advisor may be beneficial for some parents.

Administrative actions may be taken by child support agencies without going to court. Some of these actions automatically take effect when a parent’s debt exceeds a certain limit.

If you aren’t receiving your currently owed payments, then you can take a number of steps to enforce the court order. You can send a written request to the other parent, contact your support agency or file a motion with a court.

It is considered a felony offense to owe child support amounts over $10,000 or to remain delinquent for a period exceeding two years.

Parents who owe at least $1,500 and meet other eligibility criteria may enter into an arrears forgiveness agreement.

Parents may file for a modification request when they have full custody of the child. The order may be terminated in these cases. Otherwise, support orders will rarely be stopped until the child reaches the age of majority. 

Parents may stop paying support when the child reaches the age of majority and has graduated high school. In Alaska, support automatically terminates when the child reaches their 18th birthday unless the custodial parent provides documentation to the court proving they are still in high school. The order must have terminated, and the parent must pay off all outstanding support debts.

Alaskan child support orders automatically stop when the child turns 18 unless the custodial parent requests further assistance and proves to the court the child is still attending high school.

Custodial parents can close a case, but the support agency or court may still request payments from the parent until the order terminates.