Court-ordered child support payments are intended to compensate children’s custodial parents for the basic living expenses, education, and health care of the child. This can be a difficult area to navigate for parents who have divorced, separated, or broken up—not least, because there are many misconceptions that surround this area of family law.

Common Misconceptions About Child Support

1. Taxes

Child support cannot be deducted as an expense by the person paying, but it is tax-free income for the recipient. Federal tax refunds may also be taken away to cover unpaid child support.

2. How Child Support Is Calculated

There is no set rubric across the U.S. for the amount of support needed to cover the care of children. Each state sets its own guidelines for what the adequate amount of money will be; the State of Hawaii has its own child support calculator, which you can read about here.

3. Child Visitation 

Child visitation rights and child support are two separate issues. Payments cannot be withheld because the child’s custodial parent tries to limit the amount of time that the other parent spends with the child or even if the custodial parent or the courts deny visitation.

4. Bankruptcy & Unemployment

Child support payments are still due in cases of bankruptcy or unemployment. A family court judge can modify child support orders, however, and mandate a decrease, suspension, or elimination of payments due to a change in financial circumstances.

5. Penalties for Unpaid Child Support

As many as 30% of child support orders are never honored—meaning that almost one-third of custodial parents and their children never see the money they are owed. Failing to carry through on payments can result in garnished wages and damaged credit for the delinquent parent. Under federal law, if a parent owes $2,500 in unpaid child support, they can even be denied a passport and be unable to leave the country.

If you are looking for help obtaining or navigating child support, look no further than Honolulu’s Everett Cuskaden & Associates ALC. Their local, family-owned law firm has been in practice for more than 35 years. Call Everett Cuskaden & Associates ALC at (808) 545-1331 for more information, and be sure to check out their YouTube channel for in-depth explanations of current issues in Hawaii family law.