When a party is first awarded child support through a Court Order, there are often many questions regarding how and when those payments will be received. The bottom line is that once the process is underway support payments are generally received seamlessly. Frustratingly, however, there can be some delay in receiving the first payment.

If you are under an order to receive child support through the Wisconsin Support Collections Trust Fund (WISCTF), the payor’s employer will be sent an income assignment. The income assignment requires the employer to withhold the appropriate amount of child support as ordered by the Court. This process can take a few weeks to begin. In the meantime, it is the payor’s obligation to send child support payments directly to the WISCTF until child support is withheld by the income assignment from the payor’s wages.

Click here for a link to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families website provides insight into the anticipated time line for you to expect child support payments to begin through the WISCTF.

In some counties, there is a fee for an income assignment to be generated and sent to the payor’s employer. Please be sure to confirm whether or not you need to pay any fees in order for an income assignment to be processed. Without an income assignment being sent, the payor is still obligated to pay support to the WISCTF, but it will not be withheld from the payor’s income.

Once an income assignment is in effect, the next question is: How do I receive my child support? There are a number of options to receive support which include a direct deposit into your checking or savings account or a Child Support Debit Card in your name.

This link to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families website provides helpful information to determine what option to receive child support is best for you.

While a little patience is often needed when an order is first made for child support, the process is designed to make sure that child support is paid timely, that accurate records are kept regarding the payment of such support and that you receive child support as ordered by the Court. If you have questions regarding the receipt or payment of Court ordered child support, please contact your attorney or the child support enforcement office in the county in which your child support was ordered.