A South Dakota child support order is a legally binding court decree that establishes one parent's obligation to pay financial support for their children, specifying the monthly payment amount, medical support requirements, and payment terms. The Division of Child Support works with parents, employers, and other partners to help ensure children receive court-ordered child support and medical support through a comprehensive system of establishment, collection, and enforcement.
What Is a South Dakota Child Support Order?
A South Dakota child support order is a formal court directive requiring one parent to provide regular financial payments to help support their children when parents are separated, divorced, or were never married.
Core Components of Child Support Orders
Every South Dakota child support order includes specific mandatory elements. The order states the monthly child support payment amount based on state guidelines, designates which parent must pay support (typically the noncustodial parent), specifies the payment schedule and method, includes medical support provisions requiring health insurance coverage, addresses unreimbursed medical expenses beyond insurance coverage, and may include child care cost-sharing arrangements.
Legal Authority for Orders
South Dakota child support orders are governed by state statutes found in South Dakota Codified Laws Title 25, Chapter 7. These laws establish the guidelines courts use to calculate support, the procedures for establishing and modifying orders, and the enforcement mechanisms available when parents don't pay.
How to Establish a South Dakota Child Support Order
The process for obtaining a South Dakota child support order depends on whether parents are married or unmarried.
During Divorce or Legal Separation
When parents are getting divorced or legally separated, child support is handled as part of that legal process. You can request child support when you file your divorce papers. The court addresses child support along with custody, property division, and other divorce-related matters, ultimately issuing a comprehensive decree that includes the child support order.
For Unmarried Parents
If you aren't married to your child's other parent, you may request child support through the South Dakota Department of Social Services – Division of Child Support. The agency can help establish the child's paternity if necessary, then proceed with establishing a child support order once paternity is confirmed.
Division of Child Support Services
The Division of Child Support is dedicated to helping families with many aspects of child support, including establishing paternity and child support orders, locating non-paying parents, and collecting and paying child support. The Division provides comprehensive services from initial establishment through ongoing enforcement and modification.
What South Dakota Child Support Orders Must Include
South Dakota law requires all child support orders to contain specific provisions ensuring comprehensive support for children.
Medical Support Requirements
Child support orders in South Dakota must include medical support. The guideline calculations adjust the basic support obligation to account for the reasonable cost of providing health insurance coverage for the child. The total cost is apportioned between parents based on their income level, and the parent who actually pays the premiums may receive a credit against the child support obligation.
The parent with primary custody is responsible for paying up to $250 per year for the child's unreimbursed or uninsured health care costs. Additional costs beyond that threshold are apportioned between parents according to their proportionate incomes.
Income Withholding Provisions
Under South Dakota law, all child support orders must include an order for income withholding, unless there's a good reason not to require withholding (such as when the noncustodial parent is self-employed), or a judge has approved the parents' agreement for another arrangement.
Income withholding means the employer deducts the amount of support payments from the parent's paycheck and sends the money to the Division of Child Support, which then forwards the money to the custodial parent through direct deposit or debit card.
Duration of Support Obligation
The South Dakota child support order specifies how long support continues. Parents' legal duty to pay child support ends when a child turns 18 or is legally emancipated before then. However, if a child is still a full-time student in high school, the support duty continues until age 19.
Enforcing South Dakota Child Support Orders
When parents don't comply with court-ordered child support, multiple enforcement mechanisms ensure children receive the support they need.
Primary Enforcement Through Income Withholding
The most common enforcement method involves income withholding orders sent to employers. The employer automatically deducts child support from wages and remits payment to the Division of Child Support for distribution to the custodial parent. This automatic payment system prevents missed payments and ensures consistency.
Additional Enforcement Tools
If you're having trouble collecting child support, you may get help from the Division of Child Support. Depending on the amount of overdue payments, the agency has numerous enforcement tools available, including
- reporting debt to credit agencies, affecting the delinquent parent's credit rating;
- IRS tax refund offsets;
- withholding overdue support from unemployment or workers' compensation benefits;
- restricting or revoking driver's licenses, professional licenses;
- or recreational licenses;
- seizing overdue support from bank accounts;
- placing liens on property preventing sale or borrowing until the debt is paid;
- and passport restrictions for significant arrears.
Contempt Proceedings
Either the Division of Child Support or the parent owed support may file a motion with the court requesting that the delinquent parent be found in contempt. Contempt findings can lead to fines and even jail time for repeated or egregious nonpayment of court-ordered child support.
Restrictions on Self-Help Remedies
Some custodial parents who haven't been receiving child support payments may be tempted to stop the delinquent parent from seeing their kids. That's not allowed. You must continue to follow your custody order while you take steps to enforce the support order. Child support and visitation are separate legal obligations that cannot be withheld based on the other parent's failures.
Modifying a South Dakota Child Support Order
Life circumstances change, and South Dakota child support orders can be modified to reflect new situations.
When Modification Is Available
If you want to request a change in the amount of child support you're currently paying or receiving, you may file a modification petition through the Division of Child Support or directly with the court. South Dakota has different requirements for modification requests depending on when the existing child support order was issued.
Requirements for Recent Orders
If your existing support order was issued or last modified after June 2022, you'll have to prove that there's been a substantial change in circumstances in the interim, unless it's been at least three years since the order was issued. Substantial changes might include significant income increases or decreases, changes in custody arrangements, or changes in children's needs.
Requirements for Older Orders
If your existing order was issued or last modified before July 1, 2022, the judge may decide to modify child support even without any proof of changed circumstances. This more lenient standard for older orders recognizes that circumstances inevitably change over time.
No Automatic Modifications
Be aware that just because you've requested a modification of a support order doesn't mean you'll automatically get one. The judge will decide whether a modification would be appropriate under the guidelines or an allowable deviation from the guidelines after reviewing both parents' current finances and any other relevant information.
Deviations from Guideline Amounts
While South Dakota child support orders typically follow state guidelines, courts may order different amounts under specific circumstances.
Reasons for Deviations
If you believe you should be paying or receiving an amount of child support that's higher or lower than what's calculated under the guidelines, you may make that claim before the court. After considering evidence, the judge may allow a deviation from the guideline schedule based on either parent's financial condition making the guideline amount unfair, education or health care expenses necessary for the child's special needs, parents' agreements to provide extra support forms, a parent's voluntary unreasonable actions leading to unemployment or underemployment, or in certain situations, income of a parent's new spouse or obligations to support children from new relationships.
Agreed-Upon Amounts
Parents may agree on child support amounts, and most parents do eventually. However, they must submit their written agreement to the court, and a judge will review it to see how it compares to South Dakota's child support guidelines. You usually won't run into problems if you've agreed to an amount higher than the guideline calculation, but for amounts, the judge must find that the agreement meets acceptable reasons for deviations.
Resources for Understanding Child Support Orders
South Dakota provides multiple resources to help parents understand and comply with child support orders.
Division of Child Support
The Division of Child Support maintains comprehensive information and services, including child support obligation calculators, worksheets for standard and shared parenting situations, case management and payment processing, enforcement assistance, and modification services. Parents can access these resources through the Division's website or by contacting local offices.
Unified Judicial System Self-Help
The South Dakota Unified Judicial System provides self-help resources, including forms for uncontested custody, visitation, and support actions, step-by-step instructions for filing, information on child support referees, and guidance on proper legal procedures.
When to Seek Legal Assistance
Despite available resources and the Division of Child Support services, some situations require assistance from a family law attorney, particularly if you're arguing for or opposing a deviation from the guidelines, or you and your ex will share or split custody of your children.