Divergent law divorce attorneys are here to help you navigate the complexities of placement laws, codes, violations, and child support to make sure your payments are fair. We are here to help you with any complications you may have during the delegation of child support funds and enforce the child support payments issued by the court in order to meet your financial needs.
Child support payments are meant to cover the basic living of the child. These costs would include food, clothing, housing utilities, transportation, personal care, and health insurance. There can also be variable costs in addition to the normal support amount. These can 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 Appleton, the parent the child does not live with will usually pay the support, and the parent the child actively lives with will receive the support payments. The support guidelines explain what each parent will owe.
The Appleton income guidelines follow the Wisconsin guidelines which can be calculated as:
Take a look at our easy-to-use child support calculator, or the Child Support Conversion Table they can help you estimate your monthly child support payments prior to your court date.
The special support guidelines for Outagamie County follow the Wisconsin guidelines for parents who:
Have shared placement of their children, the child is with the parent at least 25% of the time.
Have split placement of the children, one parent has one child and the other parent has the other.
Are supporting more than one family (serial family)
Have either a high or low income.
Sources of income in Outagamie County correspond with the Wisconsin guidelines. Any of the following can be considered sources of income:
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.
A review will take 3 questions into consideration:
Does the current payment amount correspond with the Percentage of Income Guidelines?
Does the support order include medical support? This could include:
Either the child is already enrolled in a health care plan by one of the parent’s employers or having them enrolled in a health care plan.
Paying health insurance premiums provided by the other parent’s employer
Paying all costs associated with medical and dental bills
Are there any circumstances that have substantially changed since the last order?
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.
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.
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
Appleton has a few ways of adjusting child support payments by following guidelines for Wisconsin, which are:
A Stipulation Judgement Form will have to be filed with their local County Clerk of Court’s office with no filing fee if both parents agree on the new payment amount.
One of the parents files a motion with the pro se form to modify the order with the local County Clerk of Court’s office. There is a $30 filing fee since a court date is required if both parents do not agree on the new payment amount.
A lawyer is hired by one of the parents to file a motion on their behalf.
A request can be put in with the local child support agency with no fee associated with it.
Can I get help adjusting my child support order without having to go to court?
If both parents agree on changing the order, one of our family law attorneys can help prepare the agreement to submit it to the court. If an agreement is difficult to reach, our lawyers can also help with mediation.
Can I modify my child support order if I think the other parent has had a change in income?
Requesting a modification from the court can create a different outcome than what was expected. Be sure that you have all the facts of your case, or contact one of our lawyers near Appleton before making this request.
Can I do anything about my request to modify my child support order taking so long?
The Appleton child support agency has many cases that they are involved in. To process all cases fairly, each case can take some time to be looked at. You can file a motion with the court to attempt to speed up your case. Contact us today with any specific questions you have on this process.
The Appleton child support agency ensures all cases are being properly followed by monitoring them individually. This is done in order to determine what next steps need to be taken with the case. These actions may include suspending or revoking drivers, professional, occupational and recreational licenses. They can also determine what further steps need to be taken after these initial actions. If the payer is one or more months behind, the agency is required by federal guidelines to take action. Whether it be by issuing a court order or withholding funds.
The first action the court takes is income withholding on the paying parent. Along with this, all payments will begin to acquire interest as the income withholding continues. Income withholding will continue to increase as the payments continue to be past due. Once the past due balance reaches a certain level, legal actions will be taken on the parent paying. These legal actions can include tax refunds or imposing liens on property. Federal enforcement actions may also be taken, and include the denial of loans, grants or passports. Any and all overdue payments will be sent to credit bureaus. The Wisconsin State Legislatures Child Support Administrative Enforcement has more information on legal actions and how they are taken.
What length of time can child support payments remain enforceable?
Income withholding will continue at a continuous 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 18 years of age. In the instance that the child in question is deemed unable to care for themselves due to mental or physical disability the court will meet to decide the appropriate form for child support.
If I get called to active duty, what will happen to my child support?
If you normally have your child support orders withheld from your civilian paycheck, it will need to be withheld from your military pay as well. Your status will need to be updated with the Appleton child support agency.
What can I do if the other parent won’t let me see my children?
You will need to contact one of our family law attorneys, as the court has the only authority and ability to enforce legal custody, child placement and visitation. The child support order has no authority or responsibility for these issues.
Can the Appleton child support agency arrest the other parent?
No, child support agencies do not have the authority to arrest anyone. A warrant can be sent to the court for a signature, which if signed will be sent to the local Sheriff's office who can arrest the parent.
Can I do anything if I do not agree with the last decision that was made by the court?
Once a court rules a case, the Appleton child support agency has no ability to do anything. This decision can be appealed with help from one of our Divorce attorneys at another court date, or you can get your other options from your caseworker.
Most of the child support cases in Wisconsin end when the child turns 18 years of age. If they are still attending high school or pursuing an equivalent course (GED) after the age of 18, the order will continue until they turn 19. All arrears, also known as past-due payments, can be enforced for up to 20 years after the child turns 18. An emancipation letter will be sent to both parents 90 days before the child turns 18 years of age. The order will continue until the youngest child turns 18 unless it can be proved they are enrolled in school or an equivalent course.
The age of majority will extend if the child has a mental or physical disability and are unable to support themselves. The court generally defines the term disability as being unable to support or take care of oneself by earning a living. States can differ on if the adult disabled child’s support will still be part of the traditional support guidelines, or by the needs of the child compared to the parent’s ability to provide. Child support in cases like this will be discussed in court.
Many states give parents the option to create college support orders. This can be done by a court order or voluntarily by the parents. It can be in addition to the child support order or separate after the child support order ends. Every state allows for parents to add college support into the child support orders.
Is there a fee for Appleton Child Support Services?
Appleton 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 Appleton County court clerk File a copy with the Appleton 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 Appleton child support agency. Start a payment plan with the Appleton 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 Appleton 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.
Make a Payment 
