Can a spouse pay child support without going thru the court?

Question

Can a spouse pay child support without going thru the court?

Answer 1

They can but I certainly wouldn’t recommend doing it!

We did this in thinking we were doing what was best for the child, but it went against us in court and we ended up having to pay 2 yrs back child support even though we had been financially supporting the child for 1 ½  yrs prior. We had all receipts, all cancelled checks, we even mailed child support payments to the mother Certified Mail, Return Receipt and NOTHING helped us in court.

If you want to make payments, open up a bank account for the child and start putting your money in there until a court order issues you to pay. I really commend you for wanting to support your child with or without a court order. However, I just really have to warn you here. Because we got completely screwed!!!

** ADD **

Zaza…a LOT of things didn’t work out for us and given the mother’s history and the games she had played leading up to this, you’d think someone would have cut us a break. We live in FL and they really didn’t care about all the evidence we had or anything and we STILL talk about how screwed we got. And WE took HER to court to establish child support and visitation. That doesn’t happen too often either. It is what it is….we’re still saving our pennies for the day to take her back to court yet again. If money only grew on trees…..

Answer 2

A non-custodial parent SHOULD pay child support without going through the court. Not all parents need assistance of the court to get payment. MOST non-custodial parent are aware of their responsibilities and are happy to contribute...... without some judge telling them they have to.

** Mom2to** I do not know what state you live in but that just doesn't seem right. I do know people who paid cash and got screwed in court but when you have receipts and canceled checks.........??? I would have appealed that decision!

Answer 3

I cannot believe the first answerer! She is completely wrong.

Here is the truth.

You can pay child support without going through the courts. I do this myself. We also asked the CSA for confirmation as to how much I should pay, but after that they left us alone to sort out  the payment.

Should there be a dispute, as long as your bank accounts show money going from your account to her account, these WILL count in any dispute.

I am in the situation you are talking about so I know what its all about.

Answer 4

I think it depends on what country you're in to be honest! In the UK the CSA can contact the absent parent to organise child support payments which can even be taken directly from their pay packets. Please bear in mind the CSA are SHITE though, I have had nothing but trouble from them as did my parents when they split up over 15 years ago. If you are in contact with the absent parent, and they are willing to sort it without going through the CSA then that's far better.(who, if you are on benefits, will not give you the entire amount...For example, the parent will pay 100 but you may only see 50 of that)

Answer 5

Some places do.  If someone goes thru with it this way, they need to make sure there is proof of all payments and that they have a way to recoop any money that was not being paid.  The courts are a pain, but they do keep track of everything for you, and the person stops paying or stops working then they keep track of how much they still owe and can later go get that money for you.

Answer 6

Yes, here in the states, you can pay without going to court... But - it's best to go to court and get everything in writing thru them.  You never know if you will have complications down the road and then it could turn into a 'he said, she said' type of thing.

And, if you file thru the Division of Child Support Enforcement, it's not really 'court' you go to.  You go to Child Support Enforcement's office and everything is set up there.  You never have to sit in front of a judge unless the non-custodial parent doesn't pay or something like that.

Answer 7

Yes, but he may get called to court anyway by a relative who doesn't know that he is giving money to you.

If you don't need/want the child support, you can just get the minimum and set up a visitation schedule if he has partial custody or visitation.

I'm 13 and in the same situation (not your's your child(ren)'s) I actually just recently got into a fight with my bio. dad and he wouldn't speak to me for 8 months because I wanted the same last name as my family (stepdad and mom).

Good luck!

Answer 8

They can, but it won't count should there be a child support order set up later in the courts. For example, if a father pays child support without the order for two years, but then the order is put in place, the order will be retroactive so it's like the father never paid anything. The courts consider any 'under the table' money as a gift, and not part of child support. So it's best to do it through the courts.

Edit: I live in Ohio, and this is how it was handled with me. The courts said since any transactions between me and the father of the child could not be proven to be child support, they would not count it as such. I'm just telling you the way the court handled me.