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1. Who can receive child support?

A person can receive child support if all of these are true:

• A person is the parent of a minor child or is the person who has court-ordered custody of a minor child
  
• The minor child lives in the person's household
  
• The child is financially dependent on that person
  
• One or both of the child's parents are absent from the home
  
• The court ordered a person to pay child support

2. What services are not available?

The following services are not available through Washington County:

• Divorce assistance
  
• Visitation or custody issue mediation / resolution
  
• Spousal maintenance (alimony) order establishment or modification
  
• Legal advice or counsel

3. Who can use child support services?

The following people may use child support services:

• Parents of minor children if one parent does not live with the child
• Parents who pay court-ordered child support
• People who have court-ordered physical custody of a minor child.
• People who receive public assistance in the form of cash assistance, medical assistance, MinnesotaCare, and/or child care assistance for a minor child who lives in their home

4. After I apply, what else must I do?

Taking an active role in your case and cooperating with our office makes establishing a court order more efficient and makes collecting regular support payments more likely. Any changes that may affect your case must be reported to our office. Contact your child support worker if:

• You or the other parent moves
  
• You or the other parent gets a new phone number
  
• You or the other parents gets a new job.
  
• Your child moves or graduates from high school
  
• Your child no longer receives child care
  
• You have new information that may help locate the other parent
  
• You apply for public assistance
  
• You are involved in other court actions regarding child support payments

5. If I apply for child support services, do I have any rights?

You have the right to:

• Receive fair, respectful, and nondiscriminatory treatment
  
• Participate in any court action involving your case
  
• Ask the child support office to review the amount of support payments and request the court modify your support order, if appropriate
  
• Request in writing that your child support case be closed at any time, except if cash public assistance, medical assistance, MinnesotaCare and/or child care assistance is open for your minor child / children

6. What is Contempt of Court?

The court may find an obligor in contempt if they have the ability to pay but are not paying their child support obligation. The court may sentence an obligor to serve time in jail. Contempt is used only when other enforcement tools have failed and the county attorney approves it.

7. What are the criteria for an obligor to be found in contempt?

When an obligor is in arrears in an amount equal to at least three months of the court ordered support obligation, a possible enforcement remedy is civil contempt.

8. How does contempt start?

If Washington County is providing support enforcement services, the child support worker may initiate contempt proceedings if contempt is determined to be an appropriate remedy. Once the worker initiates the contempt, it is referred to the County Attorney's Office to proceed with personal service of the obligor. If the location of the obligor is unknown, Washington County will be unable to pursue civil contempt until the obligor's location is confirmed.

9. What happens once the obligor is personally served?

A hearing will be scheduled at which the court will determine whether or not the obligor has failed to willfully pay support. The court may sentence the obligor to a period of up to six months in jail. The jail sentence is typically stayed on the condition the obligor complies with certain requirements such as making the support payments. A review hearing will be scheduled for three to six months from the date of the first hearing to verify if the obligor is in compliance with the courts order of contempt. An order for contempt is typically in effect for one year from the date of the first order for contempt.

10. Once the obligor is found to be in contempt, will payments start?

Not necessarily. There is no guarantee that civil contempt will result in payments from the obligor. A review hearing will be set at the time of the initial hearing and if the obligor is not paying, they will be in front of the judge again for the non-payment. This may result in the obligor serving time in jail.

11. Will a contempt action automatically reinstate an obligor's driver's license?

No, driver's license suspension and contempt are separate actions. An obligor would still need to take action on the driver's license suspension even if they are found in contempt by a judge.

12. The obligor did not show up at the contempt hearing, what happens now?

If an obligor fails to attend the contempt hearing, the judge will issue a writ for their arrest and a bond amount will be ordered. If the obligor is picked up on the writ, they will be scheduled for a hearing where they will appear in front of a judge on the contempt charge.

13. Can obligees bring obligors in for contempt themselves?

Yes. The obligee may bring a motion for civil contempt. Contempt paperwork may be found on the Minnesota Judicial Branch court website.

14. Why wouldn't contempt be used?

There are various reasons why Washington County would not be able to pursue contempt.

• The obligor does not reside in the State of Minnesota.
• The location of the obligor can not be verified.
• The obligor is a recipient of cash public assistance.
• The obligor is in compliance with a payment agreement.