Parents in Maryland may sometimes find themselves confused about the topic of child support payments. This is often because there are multiple ways the payment arrangements could be set up. While having different types of child support cases can be confusing, they are necessary so that the government is able to be aware of the families that require additional financial assistance.
IV-D child support cases are those in which custodial parents are assisted by the Office of Child Support Enforcement. The agency may help with establishing paternity, finding non-custodial parents or enforcing the terms of a child support order.
IV-A cases differ from IV-D cases in that the assistance the custodial parents gets is from the state. To cover the costs of providing support for families, the state will forward IV-A cases to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, which will try to directly collect the required payments from the non-custodial exes.
In IV-E cases, the children are not in the care of their biological parents. For example, the children may be cared for by another relative or be foster children. IV-E cases are referred to the Office of Child Support Enforcement like IV-A cases so that costs can be recouped from non-custodial exes.
Child support cases that are handled privately between each divorced party, are referred to as non-IV-D cases. If a non-IV-D case is referred to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, however, it will be reclassified as an IV-D case.
A family law attorney may help a parent obtain the desired settlement terms for child support. The attorney could work to ensure that the amount of child support that is being paid is enough to meet the financial needs of the client’s children. Enforcement procedures may be requested by the attorney to collect on delinquent child support.