Our Madison divorce lawyers can help with the complications surrounding child support payments and custody agreements. We offer fixed fee rates and payment plans so cost is never an issue.

Getting child support payments in Madison

Child support payments are meant to cover the costs of basic living for the child. This can include food, clothing, housing utilities, transportation, personal care, and health insurance. In addition to the child support order, variable costs could include child care, school tuition, special needs of the child, or other activities that have a considerable cost associated with them. There are 2 ways Child Support payments are distributed:

Direct Deposit: sends payments directly to the checking or savings account that you provide.

EPPIC MasterCard: acts like an ATM card or Bankcard, which will be sent to you if there is no DIrect Deposit account set up.

In Madison, typically the parent who does not live with the child pays the support payments, and the parent who actively lives with the child receives the payments. The support guidelines explain what each parent owes.

Calculating child support and special support guidelines in Madison WI

The Income Guidelines for Dane County follow the Wisconsin Law guidelines, which are calculated as:

17% of income for 1 child
25% of income for 2 children
29% of income for 3 children
31% of income for 4 children
34% of income for 5 or more children

Take a look at our easy-to-use child support calculator or the Child Support conversion table to help estimate your monthly child support payments.

WI Child Support Calculator Easy-To-Use Estimator

Dane County’s Special Support Guidelines follow the Wisconsin State guidelines, which are for parents who:

Share the placement of their children, meaning the child is with the parent for at least 25% of the time.
Have split placement of the children, meaning one parent has one child and the other parent has another.
Support more than one family which is also called a serial family.
Have either high or low incomes.

What can be classified as a source of income for Madison WI?

Sources of income for Dane County follow the Wisconsin state guidelines. Some sources of income may include any of the following:

Wages, Salaries, Earnings, Tips, Commissions or Bonuses from work

Interest or capital gain from investments or properties

Workers Compensation benefits or personal injury awards intended to replace income

Unemployment insurance

Social Security Disability Income (SSID), but not Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or any other public assistance

Military allowances and veterans benefits

Voluntary retirement contributions, cafeteria plans, or any undistributed income of a corporation

Adjusting your child support payments in Madison

Modification is the term for having a child support order legally changed in Wisconsin. Only a court review has the authority to modify an order. This decision can either increase or decrease the monthly payments, potentially adding or modifying the order to provide medical support. To obtain the order modification forms, please visit Wisconsin Court Systems Forms.

What needs to be reviewed to adjust Madison child support orders?

A review will take into consideration 3 questions:

Does the payment amount correspond with the Percentage of Income Guidelines?
Does the support order include medical support? This could mean:
1. Either the child is already enrolled in a health care plan by one of the parent’s employers, or enrolling them in a health care plan.
2. Paying the health insurance premiums provided by the other parent’s employer
3. Paying all medical and dental costs or bills
Are there any circumstances that have changed substantially since the last order?

Order reviews & updates

You will need to request a modification to your order from the court. This review is the only way that a child support order can be modified. This decision can increase or decrease your monthly payments, along with the option to add or modify the order to include medical support. To get the order modification forms, please visit the Wisconsin Court Systems Forms.

REVIEW OF AN ORDER

A review of an order to see if it needs to be updated will be completed if:

The order hasn’t been reviewed in the last 3 years AND one of the parents has been receiving cash benefits for the children.
A parent requests a review AND there it hasn’t been reviewed in the past 3 years.
- If a substantial change in circumstances occurs, the local child support agency may do a review more frequently than every 3 years. In this case, a written request will be made to the agency.
- Examples of substantial changes are changing the placement of the child, a parent has a large income change, the paying parent is in jail/prison.
A review is ordered by the court.
An attorney is hired by one of the parents to request a review from the court
A request is made by one of the parents using a pro se form.

NOORDER REVIEW

An order WOULD NOT have a review done if:

The parent has no legal duty in providing support for the child.
- All the children are either emancipated, or the paying parent ended their rights.
Good Cause was found or pending for one of the parents in W-2
- The parent with Good Cause can request a review
A different state also have control over the order
The parent’s location is unknown
The paying parent reduced their income voluntarily

When can I adjust my child support payments in Madison?

Madison follows the Wisconsin State guidelines when adjusting child support payments. These guidelines include:

A stipulation judgement form needs to be filed with the local County Clerk of Court’s office if both parents can agree on a new payment amount. There is no filing fee associated with this.
A pro se form is filed with the local County Clerk of Court’s office to modify the order. This option has a $30 filing fee associated with it.
An attorney can be hired by one of the parents to file a motion on their behalf.
Requesting a review from the local child support agency by one of the parents. This option has no fee associated with it.

Frequently asked questions about adjusting child support

Who can I contact for help adjusting my child support order that doesn’t involve going to court?

You can contact one of our Divorce Attorneys for assistance modifying your support order. If both parents agree on changing the support, our lawyers can help prepare and submit an order to the court. We can also help with mediation if an agreement is difficult to reach.

Can a court order be set if I think the other parent’s income has changed?

A modification request from the court may provide a different outcome than what was expected. Be sure to have all the facts on your case, or contact one of our Divorce Attorneys near Madison before making this request.

Is there a reason that my modification request is taking such a long time? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?

The Madison child support agency has many cases that they are involved in. In order to process all cases fairly, each case can take some time to process. You can file your own motion for the court to try and speed up your case or contact our Divergent Law firm near Dane County for specific questions.

Enforcing child support payments in Madison

The Madison child support agency monitors all orders individually to ensure they are being followed. The agency is required to take action by federal guidelines if the payer is one or more months behind on payments. Income withholding will be the first action taken on the paying parent. All payments will begin to incur interest alongside the income withholding. The amount of income withholding will continue to increase as the payments are continually past due. Some other actions include but are not limited to suspending or revoking drivers, professional, occupational and recreational licenses. Once these steps have been taken, they will determine what further actions need to be enforced.

As the past due balance reaches a certain level, legal actions will start to be taken on the paying parent. Actions included in this are intercepting tax refunds or imposing liens on property. Federal enforcement may include denial of loans, grants or passports. All unpaid payments will be reported to credit bureaus. Check out the Wisconsin State Legislatures Child Support Administrative Enforcement for more information on legal actions that are taken when child support is left unpaid.

Frequently asked questions about enforcing child support

How long can child support payments be enforced in Dane County?

Income withholding will continue at the same rate until all past due payments are paid in full. Cases such as these can be enforced for up to 20 years after the youngest child reaches the age of 18.

If I get called to active duty, what happens to my child support order?

If the support payments are withheld from your civilian paycheck, it will also need to be withheld from your military pay. Your status will need to be updated with the Madison child support agency.

What should I do if the other parent won’t let me see my children?

The court has the only authority and responsibility to enforce legal custody, visitation and placement orders. Contact one of our Divorce Attorneys to help with the court papers and process.

Can child support agencies arrest the other parent?

No, the child support agency has no authority to arrest the other parent. A warrant can be sent to the court for a signature, which if signed will be sent to the Police office where they can arrest the parent.

What can I do if I do not agree with the last court decision?

Once a court rules a case, the Madison child support agency will not be able to change anything. You may appeal this decision with one of our Family Law Lawyers at another court date, or contact your caseworker about your other available options.

How to stop paying child support: Madison WI

You and the other parent would need to sign a stipulation. This is a legal document that will reduce or eliminate any past due child support owed to you. The court needs to approve this, though it will not change any support that is owed to the state. This decision is irreversible, so make sure you contact a Madison family lawyer with your specific questions.

Under Wisconsin Law, most child support cases will end when the child turns 18 years old. If the child is still attending high school or completing their GED after they turn 18, child support may continue until they turn 19 years old. If the child is 18 and not pursuing their high school education or equivalent, the payments for child support will end. All past due payments, typically called arrears, can be enforced for up to 20 years after the child turns 18 years of age. An emancipation letter will be sent to both parents 90 days before the child turns 18 years old. This order will end when the youngest child turns 18 years old unless it can be proved they are pursuing their GED or equivalent.

When does child support extend past the Age of Majority?

The age of majority will extend if the child is mentally or physically disabled and cannot support themselves. The court will generally define the term disability as being unable to support oneself by earning a living. States may differ on whether or not to have the adult disabled child’s support still as part of the support guidelines or to go by the needs of the child compared to the parent’s ability to provide.

Can I switch my child support order to college support?

There are many states that allow parents to create college support orders. This can be done voluntarily by the parents, or by court order. This is either in addition to child support, or a separate order after the child support order is completed. Every state allows for parents to add college tuition funds into child support orders.

Please contact our team of divorce attorneys at our Madison location to learn more about how to receive, modify, enforce, or terminate child support.

Frequently Asked Questions about Child Support

Is there a fee for Madison Child Support Services?

Madison does not charge a fee for Child Support Services. There may, however, be a fee for any specialized child support services that are not part of the support guidelines.

How can I start a child support order or request a change to my current order?

The following need to be completed in order to start or change your child support: File the paperwork necessary with the Madison County court clerk File a copy with the Madison child support agency. Make sure the other parent is served with the new or updated papers.

How can I avoid further enforcement actions?

Ways of avoiding further enforcement actions are: Pay all past due payments in full, then keep up with current payments If you make a job change, ensure that your support is paid on time. If there is any possibility of your paycheck deduction from your employer being delayed, send your payment and payment coupon to the Madison child support agency. Start a payment plan with the Madison agency for any and all past due payments.

If I lose my job, what will happen to my child support?

Even after the loss of a job, the child support order will continue. The court has the only authority to change an order. If there is a substantial change in income due to this job loss, a request for a change in the amount of support you are paying can be sent in. This will not happen automatically, so be sure to contact one of our divorce attorneys or the Madison child support agency to see how to make a change to your support.

What happens when the parent ignores paying child support?

When a parent refuses to pay child support, income withholding will continue at the same rate until all the past-due payments are fully paid. These cases can be enforced up to 20 years AFTER the youngest child turns 18.