Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona

Re: child support & arrearages

Here is my advice. Do your homework and you can take action in court on your own. If you need to hire an attorney, the more information & documentation you have gathered, the less time the attorney will have to spend (& bill you) finding out the information. 1. Set aside a large folder�put all your paperwork & receipts in one place. Check the Clerk of Court website for your county and locate the list of documents in your case through http://www.supreme.state.az.us/publicaccess/notification/default.asp. Review the list of court documents with your own. Go down to the courthouse and get copies of anything you don�t have already. However, a certified copy of your full child support payment record will be needed later, so get that while you are there. Is there an open child support enforcement case? If you�ve received notices from DCSE-Department of Child Support Enforcement, it will have your ATLAS # which you�ll need to access any information. Check on http://www.de.state.az.us/dcse/. Be sure you know the amounts, don�t rely on the other parent may be telling you. MAKE ALL PAYMENTS FOR SUPPORT THROUGH THE Arizona State Disbursement Unit and include the ATLAS # on all payments. Don�t make direct payments to the custodial parent! 3. What should the current child support order amount be? Check out the Supreme Court website at http://www.supreme.state.az.us/childsup/, plug in the numbers and see. Print out the results. The written Guidelines are the best source to explain how child support is calculated. 4. If you did not participate with Child Support or the past court actions, you are not in as good a position as you could be. Normally, the courts will only look at child support cases once every 12 months. There needs to be a very good reason for more frequent action�not just whining about the orders. 5. Sample forms for filing review of arrears and modifying monthly child support amounts are available through http://www.supreme.state.az.us/nav2/selfserv.htm. If you are not in �Maricopa� County, just change the name of the county. It may be helpful to check out other county�s site for alternative language or sample forms. Follow the steps to file the pleadings with your Clerk of Court. There will be a filing fee unless you qualify for a waiver of fees (see sample forms). Then you need to follow the instructions for notifying the custodial parent, getting service. You are responsible for tracking any timelines for response, the court doesn�t have time to do it for you. Set up a calendar.