Who is the most likely to receive child support?

While popular media continues to focus on who does not pay or does not receive child support, according to the US census report approximately 71% of custodial parents with a child support award or agreement in place received some level of child support from the non-custodial parent. In the United States, this amounts to over 39 million parents who either pay or receive child support.

How can a custodial parent increase their chances of receiving child support?

I’m fairly certain that no one ever sets out to be a parent who pays or receives child support. Unfortunately, with the divorce rate at nearly 50%, dealing with child support is now a necessary evil of our society. So, is there anything you can do, prior to having children  to increase your chances of receiving child support? It turns out, the answer is yes. A recent report from the Children’s Data Bank Organization reveals some very interesting trends. Here are our recommendations:

1. Marry the other parent

Custodial parents who have never married are substantially less likely than custodial parents who have been married to receive the full child support payment owed them. In 2009, 35 percent of never-married custodial parents reported that they received full child support payments in the previous year, compared with 44 percent of married custodial parents.

 

Parents who were married are more likely to receive child support.

2. Get a college degree

Custodial parents with at least a college degree are more likely than those without a high school diploma to receive the full amount of child support payments awarded to them. In 2009, among parents who were due child support payments in the past year, only 30 percent of custodial parents with less than a high school degree reported that they received their full child support awards in the previous year, followed by 41 percent of those with a high school diploma only, 43 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or more and 44 percent of those with some college or an associate’s degree. 

The higher the education the more likely to receive child support payments.

3. Get a child support order after you turn 40

The percentage of custodial parents who receive full child support payments varies considerably by age. Look at these staggering statistics:

• NONE – none (0 percent) of the 18,000 custodial parents ages 15 to 17 who were supposed to receive child support payments in the previous year received full payments
• 37% – Parents age 18 to 39 years old received full child support payments
• 47% – Parents over 40 received full child support payments  Your age affects the likelihood of receiving child support payments.

4. Be a custodial mother

There is a lot of talk about gender bias, and as it turns out, when it comes to child support awards there continues to be a gender bias in favor of mothers. In fact, only 30 percent of custodial fathers have been awarded child support, compared with 55 percent of custodial mothers.

5. Accept non-cash contributions

We call this “additional expenses” or payments for things that are outside of the base child support payment. Sixty percent of custodial parents reported that their child’s absent parent provided some form of non-cash payment in the prior year. Also, 22 percent of all custodial parents reported that their child’s absent parent provided health insurance in the prior year. 

6. Keep the other parent involved

According to many studies, 97% of parents who are involved in a child’s life pay child support. The greatest lesson here is that parents who work together, pay together.

The full report can be found here: Child Support Receipt by Child Trends Database