New Jersey Child Support

Neither the receiving parent nor the paying parent should claim or report the support obligation on their tax returns. The paying parent won’t receive any sort of deduction, and the receiving parent can’t claim the money as income.

Your support obligation won’t impact your taxes. The money is considered tax-neutral.

Payments will be taken after income tax has already been applied on the obligation amount.

When the paying parent owes at least $150 for a child who is on public assistance, their federal tax return can be intercepted and applied to these debts. In cases where the child is not on public assistance, the amount of unpaid support must be equal to or exceed $500.

Unmarried parents can complete a Certificate of Parentage and file it with their local registrar’s office or county welfare agency to establish paternity. In cases where paternity is contested, courts may order genetic tests to be done. Paternity may be established through a court order.

A father who is not listed on the birth certificate has no legal rights to their child regardless if they are the biological father or not.

In cases where paternity is not established, fathers have a right to seek a court hearing. Courts may require the mother to submit to a genetic test to determine the father.

If the father is deceased, then it is recommended that the mother contacts their local County Welfare Agency for assistance. It may be possible to establish paternity through genetic testing of the father’s living relatives.

A father who has no legal rights to the child must seek out the mother’s written consent for the child’s participation in a DNA test. On top of that, DNA tests that don’t include the mother’s sample won’t be as accurate.

New Jersey child support laws require parents to seek a paternity action within five years beyond the child’s 18th birthday.

The amount a non-custodial parent owes may change over time due to cost of living arrangements or other changes. For this reason, cases are automatically eligible for review every two years.

Parents should file a motion with the court that originally issued their child support order. The modification request must be based on a substantial change of circumstances.

Parents may file a motion to reevaluate the support order within 20 days of the order’s establishment. Appeals are only justified when a lower court has made an error or mistake.

A lawyer is not necessary when attempting to modify your obligation amount, but a lawyer can help protect your rights and sway the court in your favor at times.

Parents can make a change to the support order when there has been a substantial change of circumstances in either the paying parent’s income, the child’s needs or the custody arrangement

Many enforcement measures are automatic and will be initiated based on how much the non-custodial parent owes and how long they have owed money to the agency.

If you aren’t receiving payments, then you should contact NJ child support office. The main phone number for Child Support is 1-877-NJKIDS1.

If the Child Support Enforcement Agency determines that the parent has not paid support, then they will take steps to collect the money.

Willfully avoiding paying child support which is overdue in amounts exceeding $10,000 or periods over two years will be considered a felony.

The support debt can sometimes be forgiven. New Jersey courtrooms evaluate whether the debt is forgivable on a case-by-case basis.

Parents can file for a motion to declare a child emancipated when the child has reached 18-years-old, has graduated high school and is no longer dependent on the parents.

Parents can apply to terminate support when the child has reached 18-years-old, has graduated from high school, has gotten married, has enlisted in the military or has passed away.

If the custodial parent receives public assistance, then their case will remain open. If the custodial parent is not receiving public assistance, then they can request that their child support case be closed.

Parents may stop making payments when their obligation has ended, the order has been terminated or expired and there are no outstanding debts on the case.

New laws passed last year extend the legal age for support to 23-years-old when the child is a full-time student in college, still in high school, disabled or when granted by the court. When these conditions don’t apply, support will end at 19-years-old.