Montgomery County, PA

What is Support?
Types of Support
Who May Request Support?
How to Apply for Support
Preparing for Your Intake Appointment
Your Intake Interview
Locating the Absent Parent
Your Support Folder

What is Support?

The term “support” is usually defined as money paid by an individual in order to help provide food, clothing, shelter, and other necessities for his or her dependents.  The term "dependents" refers to the spouse and/or children that a person is legally bound to support.
Therefore, in Domestic Relations, “support” can refer to two separate financial obligations: child support and spousal support.

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Types of Support

Child Support is defined as support and medical coverage for dependent children.

Spousal Support is, on the other hand, support for a dependent spouse provided when the parties are married, but living apart.

Alimony Pendente Lite (APL) is when the dependent spouse is asking for support in connection with a divorce.  A dependent spouse is one who can prove that he or she lacks the ability to earn enough income because of lack of skills, lack of education, ill health, or the responsibility of taking care of young children.  The dependent spouse is entitled to support at a level equal to the standard of living that he or she had during the marriage, if the other spouse’s finances are sufficient to provide this.

Medical Coverage and Other Expenses:  There are other types of support besides money which may be requested during a support action.  The plaintiff, who is the person filing for support, may request that medical and hospital coverage for him/herself and their children be provided by the defendant, who is the person being asked to pay support.  This request is limited by the kind of coverage available and its cost to the defendant.  A plaintiff may request that the defendant help contribute toward all medical, dental and prescription expenses not covered by insurance. 
The defendant may be required to pay for a share of day care expenses for the children, which would allow the plaintiff to work or attend school.

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Who May Request Support?

The law in Pennsylvania states that the "custodial parent" (the parent that the child lives with), any adult or agency caring for a minor child, or any married individual living apart from his/her spouse may request support from the absent parent or spouse.  The law states that both parents have an obligation to support their children, but the monetary amount of the support obligation depends on many factors.  The most important factor is the net income of each parent.  The way that the Domestic Relations Section determines net income is described later in this manual.  Both parents are expected to support their children as much as they are financially able.

The parent who has custody of the child more than 50% of the time claims the child as a dependent for income tax purposes.  This can be changed only if the custodial parent (the one with whom the child lives) fills out and submits IRS form 8332.  This form allows the absent parent (the parent with whom the child does NOT live) to claim the child as a dependent.  Parents cannot claim a child as a dependent if more than half of the child support came from a third source, such as public assistance.

Generally, a child has the legal right to receive support until his or her 18th birthday, or until graduation from high school.  Parents may also be required to pay child support for a child that has been placed outside of the home by a Juvenile Court Judge or child welfare agency, such as Montgomery County Children and Youth Services.  In those instances the local county is the plaintiff, and both parents are expected to reimburse the county as much as they can afford, as determined by state guidelines.

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How to Apply for Support

If you wish to begin a new support case, add a child to a present active case, or reopen an old case, you must appear at Domestic Relations in person for an Intake Interview.
Please note:  Everyone must have an Intake Interview. Allow 1-2 hours for your initial interview.  Please remember that due to the client volume we can only see clients Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM.  If you come after 1:30 PM we can not guarantee that you will be seen that day.  You may be asked to return at a later date for your Intake Interview.

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Preparing for Your Intake Appointment

Before you come in to open your case, gather as much of the following information as possible to bring with you to your interview.  This will allow for your case to be processed and scheduled in a timely manner.

1. Social Security cards/numbers for yourself, your children and the absent parent.
2. Birth certificates for the child or children.
3. Photo identification for applicant (yourself).
4. Current address of absent parent(s).
5. Employer name and address for yourself and absent parent(s).
6. Proof of paternity if applicable.
7. Proof of medical insurance coverage (medical cards).
8. Marriage License/Divorce decree.
9. Protection from Abuse Order (if applicable).
10. Proof of custody (caretakers).
11. All sources of income for absent parent (SSI, veteran's benefits, unemployment compensation, second job, etc).
12. A photograph of the absent parent.
13. The drivers license number of the absent parent.

For questions or concerns before your interview, please call: (610) 278-1235

FREE STATE LICENSED DAYCARE IS AVAILABLE FOR COURT BUSINESS ONLY. IT IS MANDATORY THAT YOU REGISTER YOUR CHILD WITH OUR COURT CARE CENTER IF YOU HAVE NO OUTSIDE CARE PROVIDER.

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Your Intake Interview

You can expect to spend about an hour completing the Intake Interview.  In order to receive the best possible service, please arrive on time.  You will be seen by an Intake Interviewer who will prepare a support complaint and answer any questions you may have about your case.  You will also be scheduled for a Support Conference to determine how much the absent parent will be mandated to pay for support.  The date of the Support Conference will be approximately 4 to 8 weeks from the date of the interview.

Note that support complaints are sometimes sent to another county or state because the absent parent lives there, but that it is not always necessary to do so.  There are federal and state laws that can allow us to address a case in Montgomery County, regardless of where the absent parent lives.  The Intake Interviewer will discuss this issue during your interview if appropriate, and will determine if the case will be sent to another court.  If the case is sent to a court outside Pennsylvania, the other court will establish and enforce the support order and send the payments to our office.  In such cases, you are not required to go to the other court for any hearings. These actions are called "Interstate/reciprocal/UIFSA cases."

If the absent parent lives in a nearby county, you may go to that county and file a support action in their Domestic Relations Section.  Montgomery County will not be involved in the action, and you will have to attend hearings in their court as scheduled.

It is generally desirable to have both parties in a case report to the same court.  If circumstances allow you to file a case directly with the court that will be hearing the matter (often the court where the defendant lives or works), we encourage you to do so.

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Locating the Absent Parent

Domestic Relations cannot file a complaint without the valid address of the absent parent.  If you do not know the absent parent's current address, Intake staff will work on your case based on the information that you are able to provide.  You may be called at a later date to provide more information.  The Domestic Relations office uses a variety of sources in attempting to locate an absent parent.  Some of these sources include federal and state tax information, driver's license, credit bureau and public assistance information, and employment information.

If a valid address is located, you will be contacted again to come in and complete the complaint.  If the absent parent cannot be located, your case may, unfortunately, be closed based upon a lack of necessary information.

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Your Support Folder

When you leave your Intake Interview, you will be given an envelope containing copies of all the paperwork that you signed, along with other handouts, including this handbook. You will always receive copies of documents filed and orders entered. Keep these and all subsequent documents together for your records.  Refer to them any time you contact Domestic Relations about your case.  If you need to acquire a copy of any of these documents in the future, there is a charge of $1.00 per page.

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