The most difficult child support cases to pursue are those in which the parent obligated to pay child support lives in one state and child and custodial parent live in another.   However, all states are required to pursue establishment and enforcement of support obligations as strongly for children who live outside their state as they would for those children that live in their state.  Within very specific time frames, federal law requires states to work through the necessary steps that lead to enforcement of a child support order.

State CSEs must cooperate with each other in handling requests for assistance.  However, it is not a simple matter for one state to enforce the court orders of another state.  Each state has its own system of laws, practices and traditions.  Matters of family law have traditionally been overseen by state and local governments, and in general, citizens must follow the orders of the courts where they live.

Direct wage withholding can be used to enforce a support order in another state if payor’s employer is known.  However, some states do not allow direct wage withholding for unemployment benefits, workers compensation, and in some cases, even employers. In that situation, the CSE office in that state will accept our wage withholding along with a request to set up a case in their system for disbursement of money only to our state.    For out of state orders, it is our policy to complete a request to the other state asking for enforcement, wage withholding, and other types of enforcement.

If you have any questions regarding your interstate case, please feel free to reach out to our office at any time to speak to a child support professional.