Child Support in New Hampshire

Who must pay child support?

A parent must financially support his or her children, even if:

• the parent and child live in different households, or,
• the parents were not married to each other when the child was born, or,
• either parent remarries, or,
• the parent who provides the child’s primary residence is employed or receives public assistance, or,
• the parent who provides the child’s primary residence refuses to allow visitation, or,
• the parent who does not provide the child’s primary residence lives or works in another state.

Children are entitled to support until they reach age 18, or end their high school education, whichever happens later, or support may extend through their college education.

What is the Bureau of Child Support Services (BCSS)?

The New Hampshire Bureau of Child Support Services (“BCSS”) is a state agency which provides help in:

• locating absent parents,
• establishing paternity,
• establishing support orders,
• enforcing support orders and collecting support from the parent.

Child support services are available to any parent or guardian with whom the child lives, even when the other parent lives in another state. To reach BCSS Client Services, call 1-800-852-3345 Extension 4745 or 603-271-4427 or visit the DHHS Bureau of Child Support Services website.

Receiving public assistance

If you are receiving public assistance, child support services are automatically provided. If you receive Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), your right to child support is transferred (assigned) to the State (up to the amount of assistance you receive).

Not receiving public assistance

If you are not receiving public assistance, you must file an application if you want BCSS services. Applications for services are available at the nearest Health and Human Services district office, or by calling Client Services at 1-800-852-3345 Ext. 4745 or 603-271-4427.

You do not have to wait for BCSS to act in order to request child support. You may request child support on your own (pro se), or with the help of an attorney.

Paternity and child support

The law now allows you to file a paternity action up to the child’s 18th birthday. Contact the Bureau of Child Support Services (BCSS, was DCSS) for help in establishing paternity. You may also call 603 Legal Aid to request more information.

Can a support order differ from the guidelines?

Parents may agree to a support order different from the guideline amount, or a court may order a different amount, if there are special circumstances. Special circumstances may include extraordinary medical, dental or education expenses; significantly high or low income of either parent; or other special circumstances that cause an order to be too low or too high. Court approval is required for any child support order that is different from the guidelines (and BCSS approval is required if a parent receives public assistance).

Can a child support order be changed?

You have the right to request review of your child support order every three years, or earlier if there has been a “substantial change” in your, or the other parent’s, financial circumstances.

To request a change in your support order file a Petition to Modify Child Support. You can obtain a Support Order Modification Kit online or by calling BCSS (1-800-852-3345, Ext. 4427).

How do I ask for child support?

To ask a court to order child support, you start the process by filing a Petition for Parental Rights and Responsibilities, or include the request in a Petition for Divorce.

A petition is the paper that tells the court the nature of the case, begins the case against the other party, and asks for court orders. You can get a blank petition form from the court here. Each type of petition requires different information to be provided, so be sure to read the form carefully before you file it with the court.

Once you have completed your petition, you must file it, along with a personal data sheet and the appropriate filing fee, in the family division of the circuit court in the county in which you live. If you are unsure where to file, check the court’s website that lists courts by county and town, or call the Court at (603) 271-6418.

How do I notify the other party?

After filing the petition, the court will attach a Notice to Respondent and an appearance form to the petition. The court will then forward the notice to the respondent and inform the respondent that he/she has ten (10) days to accept service at the court.

If the respondent does not accept service at the court, it is the petitioner’s obligation to ensure that the respondent is served. If the respondent is in state, this can be done in one of two ways: (1) by certified mail, with restricted delivery and signature by the addressee; or (2) by Sheriff. The petitioner must then provide either the return receipt or return of sheriff/officer to the court as proof of service.

NB: The Sheriff charges a fee for the service and mileage traveled, unless a waiver is granted (see below).

What about filing fees?

There are service fees and fees for filing the petition with the court. You can request waiver of these fees by filing a Motion to Waive Filing and Service Fees. You will have to submit a sworn financial affidavit in order to establish that you are not able to pay the necessary fees. Ask the court clerk for a financial affidavit form. You can find a form Motion to Waive Filing Fees and a financial affidavit on the court’s website. The court may or may not grant the motion.

What forms must I file?

When you request an order for child support, both parents are required to file the following three forms that you can get online at the court’s website, or at the Family Division Clerk’s Offices.

Financial Affidavits

The financial affidavit is a form which requires disclosure of information concerning your income and expenses. Putting false information in a financial affidavit is a crime. See our page on Financial Affidavits for more information and a link to the Court’s form.

Financial affidavits are used by courts in family cases for at least two different purposes:

• Financial affidavits allow the court and the parties to calculate child support based upon accurate, reliable information in all cases involving parental rights and responsibilities.
• Financial affidavits allow the court and the parties to evaluate the entire financial situation of both parties when making property settlements and spousal support as a part of a divorce.

Financial affidavits, as with all documents filed with the court, are important documents and must be filled out thoroughly thoughtfully, and accurately. When you sign a financial affidavit and have your signature notarized, you are swearing that the information in the affidavit is true and complete to the best of your knowledge and belief. With filling out the financial affidavit, you have an obligation to seek out the required information that you do not have precise knowledge of or that you do not remember. You will be held accountable for inaccuracies, and you must update the information if you discover that prior information was incorrect. You will need to update your financial affidavit for every court appearance if there has been a change in your financial situation

When you are filling out the financial affidavit, you may find that you do not have anything to report in the space provided for an answer. That is normal; you should simply leave the space blank. Just remember that a blank response is still a response and you have an obligation to make sure that the response is accurate.

You should file your financial affidavit with the court and exchange your financial affidavit with the other party seven (7) days prior to any hearing, unless excused by the court. Whenever you file anything with the court, you must also give a copy to the other party. If the opposing party gives you their affidavit ahead of time, and requests a copy of yours, you must give it to them at least seven (7) days before the hearing.

Expense Record

In addition to the financial affidavit, there is a document called an expense record. The expense record is usually the third page of the financial affidavit

Whenever any financial issues are disputed by the parties, an expense record must be filed with the financial affidavit.

The expense record details every regular expense. Together with the financial affidavit, these two documents give the court a very detailed look at the parties’ monthly expenses. This assists the court when considering requests for deviations from the child support guidelines, requests for alimony, and disputes over the allocation of property.

As with the financial affidavit, the expense record must be thoroughly, thoughtfully, and accurately completed, and when filed, a copy must go to the other side.

Child Support Worksheet

This form is used to calculate child support. The income information is taken from the financial affidavits. Use the child support guideline worksheet available on the court’s website or at the Family Division Clerk’s Office to calculate the correct support amount.

Formula

New Hampshire’s child support guidelines provide a formula for determining how much child support a parent may be required to pay. Generally, the amount is 25% of adjusted gross income for one child; 33% for two children; 40% for three children; and 45% for four or more children. The amount of child support may change if there are childcare expenses, or if the parent provides medical insurance for the children, (see Medical support), or if a judge determines there are special circumstances.

Uniform Support Order

This form becomes part of the court’s order. It addresses important issues related to support payments, public assistance, medical insurance and health care expenses. It also requires both parties to inform the court of changes in address, income or employment.

Medical Support

A parent may be required to provide medical support for his or her children and may be required to obtain health insurance coverage if it is available at a reasonable cost, such as through an employer’s group health insurance policy or other group plan. Medical support is usually considered when determining child support. When you Petition the court for child support, you can request medical support.

When a parent provides medical insurance coverage, he or she may receive a credit for some portion of the actual costs, which could reduce his/her child support order.

Can a support order differ from the guidelines?

Parents may agree to a support order different from the guideline amount, or a court may order a different amount, if there are special circumstances. Special circumstances may include extraordinary medical, dental or education expenses; significantly high or low income of either parent; or other special circumstances that cause an order to be too low or too high. Court approval is required for any child support order that is different from the guidelines (and BCSS approval is required if a parent receives public assistance).

Contested hearing

After you have filed the necessary papers with the court, your case will be scheduled for a contested hearing. At the hearing you should be prepared to present evidence of both parents’ monthly income and living expenses (pay stubs, receipts for extraordinary expenses, etc.); total number of dependents; medical insurance; and anything else that will help the judge to determine how much child support to order. After hearing the evidence, the judge will issue an order setting out the amount of child support to be paid and addressing questions about medical insurance coverage.

If you reach an agreement with the other parent and file it with the court, you will be scheduled for an uncontested hearing instead of a contested hearing.

Can a child support order be changed?

You have the right to request review of your child support order every three years. If there has been a “substantial change” in your, or the paying parent’s financial circumstances, you may request review earlier.

To request a change in your support order, file a Petition to Modify Support Order. You can obtain a Support Order Modification Kit by calling BCSS (1-800-852-3345, Ext. 4745 or 603-271-4427).

Enforcing an order

Child support orders, whether new or modified, entered on or after January 1, 1994, are subject to immediate income assignment (income withheld directly from the obligor’s paycheck). Income assignments are handled through the Bureau of Child Support Services (BCSS, was DCSS), but you must file for services with BCSS and provide a copy of the order before they will act upon the income assignment.

What can I do if child support is not paid?

It is important to keep accurate records of all support payments you receive. In cases where child support payments have been ordered but are not being made, you can file an application for services with BCSS and/or file a Motion for Contempt. If the non-paying parent is in contempt, the court may do any or all of the following:

order payments be made through BCSS (after you get this order, you must apply for services with BCSS if you have not already done so, and send them a copy of the order),

• order property to be sold,
• order the non-paying parent to be jailed until support is paid,
• order the non-paying parent to pay your costs and attorney’s fees,
• order the employer to deduct the support from the non-paying parent’s paycheck,
• intercept the paying parent’s tax refund,
• take other legal steps to get child support.

Just one piece of the process.

Remember that in almost all cases a request for Child Support is made as just one piece of the overall process. Usually, an allocation of parental rights and responsibilities or divorce is the context in which child support is evaluated. Make sure that you carefully consider all of the implications of going forward with any legal action before filing with the Court. Divorce and Parental Rights actions both require the completion of many other kinds of forms, and orders made will have far reaching effect.

This page is based on the law in effect at the time of publication. It is issued as a public service for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice about the facts of your particular situation.

What you need to do

If you are involved in any case involving children, whether it is a divorce, a parenting case, a minor guardianship, a petition to establish support, or a petition to establish paternity, you will be expected to file the documents necessary to allow the judge to make an order for child support. You will have to file the following forms:

• a Financial Affidavit- which will give the Judge information about both parents’ income and assets;
• a Child Support guidelines Worksheet- which shows the Judge what the guideline’s amount of child support should be;
• a Uniform Support Order (USO)– which shows how much the child support order should be, how it will be paid, when payments are to start, whether or not there are any amounts past due; how the children will receive health insurance, and whether or not there is alimony.

You will file these forms at your first court hearing. Fill out the Financial Affidavit, and complete the Child Support Worksheet with information from the other side’s Financial Affidavit. If you do not have the other side’s Affidavit in advance, you can either use any information you already have to complete the worksheet, or you can wait until you get to court when you and the other side will exchange Financial Affidavits. The USO will be filled out from the information contained in the worksheet.

Unless you and the other side enter into an agreement, it is likely that you will have different numbers in your worksheets and USOs. The judge will resolve any differences you may have when s/he makes your order. The BCSS website has lots of information about seeking child support and modifying existing orders.