Child Support (Youth & Young Adult Legal Issues Edition)

In every dissolution of marriage (also known as divorce) and parenting plan case (sometimes called child custody), the parents are expected to develop a plan that explains how much time the children will spend with each parent. The parenting time and income of the parents will set the amount the court will grant in child support.

The CSSD is an agency that works to improve the economic stability of families through the establishment and enforcement of child support. They help with locating parents, establishing paternity, establishing financial and medical support orders, and enforcing the orders. Apply online.

The court of CSSD will order a child support amount that is reasonable given the amount of income available and the cost of caring for children.

The standards for support are:

• The financial resources available to the child;
• The financial resources available to each parent (income, pensions, etc.);
• The standard of living the child would have had if the parents were still together;
• The child’s emotional, educational, and medical needs;
• The age of the child;
• The cost of day-care; and
• How much time the child spends with each parent.

Support amounts may need to be recalculated when either of the parents experience a significant change in their financial situation or when the parenting schedule changes.

Even in cases where a parent skips payments, the need to pay that support does not go away. The support amount may continue to accrue (build up) until all payments are made current. A child’s needs must be met even in months when support is not paid.

Legal Help

• Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) provides free civil, non-criminal legal help to eligible clients. Apply for free legal help by calling 1-800-666-6899 or applying online.
• Tribal communities may have different ways of establishing child support. If you are a tribal member living in a tribal community, contact MLSA to apply for free legal help on your specific situation at 1-800-666-6899 or by applying online.
• Contact your nearest Self Help Law Center for free legal information and forms.

Legal Forms

• Child support forms can be found on courts.mt.gov.

Non-Legal Resources

• The Youth Homelessness Development Project (YHDP) is designed to support Montana service providers in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. More information is avaliable at the YHDP website.
• County resource guides provide an up-to-date list of avaliable help centers.