A parent or legal guardian can use a child support demand letter to inform another party who owes child support. That party must pay their fair share of child care costs but refuses to do so—wholly or partly.
The letter is designed to remind the other party of their obligations and require that they begin to pay.
This document may help compel the delinquent parent to pay what they owe. Even if it does not work, the letter may be helpful to evidence in court to make payment through the legal process.
What Is a Child Support Demand Letter?
A child support demand letter is a formal request to another party to pay what they owe in child support. The party that owes child support is typically a parent of the child.
In some cases, it may be some other person responsible by law for the child’s financial support.
The person awarded child support sends the letter to collect their debts. It is often used as a first formal reminder to pay or incur the risk of further action. The document is meant to alert the non-paying party to the dangers of continued non-payment.
By making the demand in writing, you announce how serious you are, and this helps document your actions as evidence in a court proceeding later.
What to Include in a Child Support Demand Letter
The letter’s purpose is to provide notice of overdue child support obligations. The letter itself should be relatively brief but should include the following key components:
The best letters use a kind, civil tone, such as that of a gentle but firm reminder. Some may contain personal details about why the children need the money to appeal to the other person’s better nature.
However, the letter should also clearly state that you may take legal action to enforce child support if necessary.
Regulation Around Child Support Cases
Both state and federal laws handle child support.
Except for Massachusetts, every state in the U.S. has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). This uniform act requires that child custody and child support litigation about a particular child occur in the child’s home state.
The home state is where the child has lived for six consecutive months before the start of litigation.
If a child has not lived in a particular location for the last six months, it is defined as the state with the most significant connections to the child and at least one of its parents who provides substantial care to that child.
The UCCJEA operates to avoid competing child support and custody orders in different states. It also helps to provide enforcement provisions for child custody orders issued by the appropriate court.
States may have additional specific requirements related to child support, which you may have to consider if the dispute goes to court.
How to Collect Unpaid Child Support
State and local agencies enforce child support orders when a letter is insufficient. However, the Office of Child Support Enforcement helps to facilitate these processes. You can even find your local agency on their website to help begin the collection process for unpaid child support.
To collect unpaid child support, you can:
- Complete and customize your child support demand letter template
- Attach relevant orders to the letter
- Send the letter, ideally via certified mail
- Contact the Office of Child Support Enforcement or your local agency if the amount remains unpaid after the demand
How to Write a Child Support Demand Letter
Follow our step-by-step template builder to write your child support demand letter. You should also complete the following steps:
Step 1: Include Party Information
Include your contact information as well as that of the person who owes child support. This identifies the parties subject to the demand letter.
Step 2: Describe What Is Owed
State that the letter requests the payment of child support you are owed. State details such as, but not limited to:
- When the child support became delinquent
- How much is owed as of a specific date
- How much is owed per month (or another applicable period)
- How to make payments to catch up
- The due date for the overdue child support amount
Step 3: Outline the Next Steps If Child Support Is Unpaid
If the child support should remain unpaid after you send the letter, your letter should outline what will happen next. This is often a statement that you will report the outstanding child support to the authorities and file a legal action in the appropriate court.
Step 4: Sign the Letter
Sign the letter at the bottom and print your name as well. Include your contact information in the letter, here, or at the top.
Step 5: Include or Attach Documents
Ideally, you should include a copy of the divorce agreement, child support or child custody order, or other order that requires child support payment. This bolsters your demand and proves the legal basis for your claim of unpaid child support.
Child Support Demand Letter Sample
This sample child support demand letter from Legal Templates can help you start building your customized document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 228), child support in arrears of one year or more and over $5,000 is a misdemeanor offense. It carries a potential punishment of six months in jail and other fines. Other penalties, including additional penalties imposed by state law, may also apply.Is there a punishment for not paying child support?
Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, you can enforce the child support order of one state in another state. Each state must honor the lawful child support order even outside its borders.How is child support enforced if the parent lives in another state?