Massachusetts Law About Child Support
Massachusetts Laws
- MGL c.208, s.28: Children; care, custody and maintenance; child support obligations; provisions for education and health insurance
- MGL c.209D, s.1-9: Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
- MGL c.273, s.1 Failure to comply with support order
- MGL c.273, s.15 Duty to support children born out of wedlock
- MGL c.273, s.15A Abandonment and wilfull nonsupport
Massachusetts Regulations
- 830 CMR 18.18A.1: Cooperation by Applicants for and Recipients of Public Assistance with Efforts by the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue to Establish Parentage and Establish, Modify and Enforce Child Support Orders
- 830 CMR 119A: Child Support Enforcement (Department of Revenue)
Child Support Guidelines
Child Support Guidelines effective Jan. 1, 2009, Mass. Trial Court.
Forms
Selected Cases
Adoption of Marlene, 443 Mass. 494 (2005). Supreme Judicial Court held: "We conclude that a parent's consent to adoption of his or her child under G.L. c. 210, ยง 2, does not terminate the parental duty to support the child."
Other Web Sources
Child Support, Mass. Legal Help. Site is packed with information, including getting child support, paying child support, changing child support, the Dept. of Revenue, and much more.
Child Support Enforcement, Dept. of Revenue.
Child Support: Family Law Advocacy for Low and Moderate Income Litigants, 2d ed, 2008, Chapter 8. Includes information on how to get child support, out of state orders, and modifications, as well as checklists and forms.
Court Guides, Mass. Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement . "Before you go to court, it might be helpful for you to review the information package for the court you are visiting. The court packages contain useful information such as what to bring, what not to bring, what to expect, where to go when you arrive, etc."
The Custodial Parent's Duty to Account to the Noncustodial Parent for How Child Support Money is Spent, ChildSupportGuidelines.com. A lengthy discussion of the issue of whether or not to require accounting by the custodial parent. Includes many references to caselaw and secondary sources.
For Which Activities Must the Noncustodial Parent Pay?: An Issue for Mediation, Divorcenet.com. Stresses the need for communication and guidelines for the gray areas.
Help, My "ex" won't Cooperate, Divorcenet.com. Simple advice in question and answer format about a hypothetical situation.
Information for Parents Who Pay Child Support, Dept. of Revenue Child Support Enforcement. A two page pamphlet designed to answer the most common questions about paying child support, including possible enforcement actions.
Information for Parents Who Receive Child Support, Dept. of Revenue Child Support Enforcement. How child support is collected, paid and enforced.
The Process of Exchanging Information in Probate and Family Court, Neighborhood Legal Services, 2000. Although ten years old, this handbook does a good job of explaining what can be requested and how to do so, as well as providing warning of when an attorney's help is critical.
Print Sources
Child Support Guidelines: New Solutions to Old Problems, Suffolk University Law School, Center for Advanced Legal Studies, Center for CLE & Academic Conferences, 2009.
Massachusetts Practice v.1-3 (Family Law and Practice), 3d ed., ThomsonWest, 2002 with supplement. Chapter 39: Child Support.