Waupaca County

Establishing paternity

     If you are not married to the father of your child, the Agency can help you legally determine the identity of the child's father. This process is called "establishing paternity". Establishing paternity guarantees a child's right to receive financial support, medical support, and inheritances from the father.

     This process is called "establishing paternity". Establishing paternity guarantees a child's right to receive financial support, medical support, and inheritances from the father.

     The length of time it takes to obtain a judgment of paternity depends on what steps will be necessary to complete the process. If a man admits paternity and signs papers declaring himself to be the father, then the process is very fast. Frequently, however, it is recommended that genetic testing be done to confirm that a man is the father of a child; this can take a month or so to schedule and receive the results. If there is a trial by jury, it may take months to be scheduled and heard by the court.

    A way to legally establish paternity that does not require the services of the Child Support Agency is for both parents to complete a "Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement" form. However, filling out this form does not establish a child support order in and of itself. For more information about this form, you may call any local hospital, the Register of Deeds office, or the Child Support Agency. A child support order cannot be obtained without either, 1) judgment of paternity, 2) genetic testing which establishes a 99% or greater likelihood of paternity, or 3) a filed Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity and subsequent motion to the court for child support.

Finding absent parents

    The Agency can try to find absent parents by using the State Parent Locator Service if you provide the parent's name and social security number. If the absent parent has moved to another state, the Agency can ask the other state to find him/her. The Agency can also search throughout the United States for the absent parent by using the Federal Parent Locator Service. A court hearing cannot be held to establish or enforce support unless the absent parent has been properly served with a notice of the hearing.

Establishing child support orders

    The Agency can assist in obtaining a child support order against a parent who is not living with and directly supporting his or her child. This can be in a situation where parents are married but separated and not pursuing a divorce, or a situation where paternity was established but no support order was made, or in a situation where a child is temporarily placed in foster care. The Agency will investigate how much the other parent earns and determine how much child support should be paid under the percentage guidelines. The Agency will first try to get an agreement from the other parent to pay support. If no agreement can be reached, the Agency will file a motion with the court to establish an order.

Enforcing child support obligations

    The Agency has a number of tools to collect child support when a payer is not paying willingly. The most effective of these tools is direct income withholding, where the child support is automatically withheld from a payer's paycheck. Other enforcement tools include:

• - interception of a payer's tax refund (an additional small fee is charged for this service),

• - denial or suspension of hunting license or driver's license,

• - reports to credit bureaus,

• - civil court charges of contempt, 

• - criminal court charges of felony nonsupport.

Reviewing child support obligations

    The Agency may review and consider whether to pursue a revision of an existing child support order upon request of either party. The Agency uses the State percentage guidelines to determine support. The Agency will do the review process after the last court order is 33 months old, or if there has been a significant change in circumstances since the last order.

Cooperation with the Agency

    If you receive public assistance, the receipt of your benefits may be conditioned upon your cooperation with the Child Support Agency in its efforts to establish and enforce a child support order against the other parent. Cooperation means providing any information about the payer that you know or could reasonably find out, including address, employer, place of birth, physical description, and any other information that may be helpful. It also means filling out forms immediately, keeping appointments, and informing the Agency of any court hearing you have scheduled on your own.

    If, however, you believe that cooperation with the Agency could result in harm to you or your child, you may not need to cooperate with the Agency if you fill out a "Good Cause Claim". You may obtain this claim form from the Department of Health & Human Services.

 Obtaining an attorney

    Many people have private attorneys during the course of a legal action (such as divorce, paternity, or contempt). The Child Support Agency has attorneys. However, these attorneys represent the State of Wisconsin and not any individual in an action.

Confidentiality concerns

    The information contained in the files of the Agency are not open to the public. Certain information may be shared with others only for the purpose of the administration of the child support program and other related programs (Sec. 49.83, Wis. Stats.).

    If a person has a concern that he or she may be harmed if certain information is released, the person should inform the Agency employee. If appropriate, steps may be taken to protect certain information from being released at all.

Automatic withholding from paychecks

    Child support payments will be automatically withheld from an employee's paycheck, provided the Child Support Agency has been informed of the payer's employer.

    However, all payers are ultimately responsible for making sure that payments are made. Payers are instructed to check their paycheck stubs to make sure that the appropriate amounts of money were withheld. If the entire amount of child support due was not withheld, it is the payer's responsibility to send in the difference to the Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund ("WI SCTF").

Personal payments

    If you wish to make a child support payment on your own (either because you are self employed, or the employer did not withhold enough, or you wish to make an additional payment), you may send the payment to:

WI SCTF Box 74200 Milwaukee, WI 53274-0200

Each check must be accompanied by the following minimum information:

- Name

- KIDS Pin

- Social Security number or Court Case number

It is preferable to send in payments with a payment coupon. If making a payment on arrears, you must specify that on the back of the payment coupon.

Payment records

    To receive information about payments received in your case, or account balances, you may contact the KIDS Information Line at: 1-800-991-5530. A brochure describing what information can be accessed from this hotline is available at the Child Support Agency.

    You may also obtain a copy of the payment history in your case from the Child Support Agency. There is no cost for a copy of your payment record. You may request the payment history in person or through the mail.

Statutory Interest

    Pursuant to Sec. 767.25(6) Wis. Stats., a party ordered to pay child support was required to pay simple interest at the rate of 1.5% per month on any amount of arrears that was equal to or greater than the amount of child support due in one month prior to May 1, 2000. The statutory rate of interest was changed to 1.0% per month effective May 1, 2000.

Change of Address

    All parties must notify the Child Support Agency of any change of address with ten days. Parties are presumed to have complied with this statutory requirement. Failure to do so may result in your missing important legal documents that may affect your rights. For a child support recipient, it may also mean that you do not receive child support. For a child support payer, it may also result in a judge issuing a civil warrant for your arrest if you cannot be found otherwise.

Change of Employer

    All child support payers are required by statute to notify the Child Support Agency within ten days of any change of employer or of any change in the amount of his or her income.

Equal Opportunity Service Provider

The Waupaca County Child Support Agency is an equal opportunity service provider. If you need assistance to access services or materials in an alternate format, please contact the Child Support Agency at (715) 258-6448.