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Child and Medical Support Orders
by: Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA)
What is child support?
Child support is money that is paid by one parent to the other to provide care for a minor child. Child support can be ordered by a court or an appropriate administrative agency, such as the Montana Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED).
How do I get court-ordered child support?
Child support must be ordered as a part of any court-ordered parenting plan. When the court establishes a final parenting plan, it also will order one or both parents to pay child support (M.C.A. § 40-4-204). If you already have a valid Child Support and Medical Support Order, the court may simply refer to that Order and acknowledge it as valid.
If you do not already have a Child Support Order in place, the court will determine a child support amount based on Montana?s child support guidelines. Computer software programs can do the complicated calculations automatically, and you may have to provide the court with the result of these calculations in a document called the Child Support Guidelines worksheet. You should ask the Clerk of District Court in the county where you are filing your Petition if they have a procedure for doing the child support calculations. You may also call the Montana Legal Services Association (1-800-666-6124) to find out if there is assistance available for running child support calculations in your area.
How can I get child support through CSED?
If you would like to get a Child Support Order through CSED rather than through a dissolution or parenting action, you should contact CSED and request application materials. You may get application materials at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services web site or by contacting the CSED Field Office in your area.
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CSED Region |
Telephone Number |
Counties or Areas Served |
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Region 2 |
(406) 727-7449 |
Blaine, Cascade, Choteau, Glacier, Hill, Liberty, Pondera, Teton, Toole |
| Region 3 |
(406) 655-5500 |
Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, McCone, Musselshell, Petroleum, Rosebud, Sheridan, Treasure, Valley, Wibaux, Yellowstone |
| Region 4 |
(406) 497-6600 |
Beaverhead, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Gallatin, Golden Valley, Granite, Jefferson, Judith Basin, Lewis & Clark, Madison, Meagher, Park, Powell, Ravalli, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweetgrass, Wheatland |
| Region 5 |
(406) 329-7910 |
Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Sanders |
| Region 8 |
(406) 444-9767 |
Children residing outside of Montana |
How is the amount of child support determined?
The amount of child support that a parent must pay is based on what the court considers reasonable and necessary for raising the child. The amount is not affected by marital misconduct. It is based on the following factors:
- The financial resources available to the child;
- The financial resources available to each parent (income, pensions, etc.);
- The standard of living the child would have had if the parents were still together;
- The child?s emotional, educational, and medical needs;
- The age of the child;
- The cost of day-care; and
- How much time the child spends with each parent.
How does the court or CSED determine the resources of the parents?
Both parents should complete a Child Support Guidelines Financial Affidavit. ou must sign this document in front of a notary, swearing that the information in it is true. You are also required to attach copies of your pay stubs or other documentation of your income. CSED or the court will use this information to do the child support calculations. If you do not already have a child support order, you will be required to file a copy of this affidavit with the court and serve a copy on the other parent as a part of your dissolution or parenting case. How does unemployment affect child support?
Even if a parent is unemployed, or if his/her earnings are not known, the parent is still responsible for paying child support. In general, the court assumes that everybody could be working 40 hours each week and earning at least minimum wage. This amount is therefore imputed? to each parent. The court may impute higher than minimum wage if the parent's earning potential justifies it. How are the child support payments made?
Child support payments are generally made by automatic income withholding, unless the court finds a good reason why income withholding is not appropriate (M.C.A. § 40-5-411). Income also can be withheld if the child support payment is delinquent (M.C.A. § 40-5-412). Support is considered delinquent if it is 8 days overdue. If you and the children are receiving public assistance under Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the child support payments must be made through CSED.
Do I need to notify CSED about my dissolution (divorce) or parenting case?
If you are already receiving services from CSED, or if you receive public assistance under TANF, you must notify CSED that you have filed for a dissolution of marriage and/or parenting plan (M.C.A. § 40-5-202). Otherwise, you do not need to notify CSED.
How can I change the amount of the child support payments?
You can ask for a change for many reasons. Some typical reasons include if your income has changed or if your child's living arrangements have changed. There are two ways to request modification of a child support order:
- by filing a motion in the District Court which originally ordered the child support, or
- by sending a written request to CSED
If your original child support was ordered by a District Court in Montana, you can ask that court to modify it by recalculating the support based on the current financial information of the parties.
Or, you can ask CSED to provide an administrative review of the child support order. CSED then would recalculate the child support based on the current financial information of the parties. Then, CSED would propose that the District Court adopt the updated amount.
What is a medical support order?
Every child support order also must include a provision about who will pay for the medical insurance and medical expenses of the minor children (M.C.A. § 40-5-805, 806, 807). This is called a Medical Support Order.
The general rule is that a parent who has medical insurance available through his or her employment must cover the children, if the insurance is available at a reasonable cost. If both parents have health plans, they may both provide coverage for the children. Sometimes the court will order both parents to pay premiums, deductibles, or other health care expenses based on percentages determined by the child support guidelines. For example, one parent may have to pay one-third of the expenses, while the other parent has to pay two-thirds. The obligation to provide medical insurance ends when the child support obligation ends (M.C.A. § 40-5-808).
Revised 11/07
For information on Getting a Divorce in Montana, see "Getting a Divorce in Montana."
For information on Parenting Plans, see "Parenting Plans."
Call the MLSA HelpLine for legal assistance:
(800) 666-6899
Montana Legal Services Association
616 Helena Avenue, Suite 100
Helena, Montana 59601
(406) 442-9830
(800) 666-6124
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