HOW TO OBTAIN AN ORDER FOR CHILD SUPPORT IN MASSACHUSETTS
Your options:
1) File a complaint (a written request of what you're seeking) in court. Start in the Registry of the Probate and Family Court for the county where you live. You can utilize the virtual registry for assistance: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/plymouth-probate-and-family-court-virtual-registry - OR -
2) You may be able to apply for child support services through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Child Support Enforcement Division. Read more here: https://www.mass.gov/topics/child-support-services - OR -
3) Contact Attorney/Mediator Kaplan to assist with the negotiations and terms of your agreement which can include child support in Massachusetts.
Allow attorney/mediator Judith R. Kaplan to work with you remotely. She can organize the mediation process, guide you to a comprehensive settlement of child support and any other child related issues that need to be addressed (such as medical insurance/expenses, legal and physical child custody). She can write your agreement and help you file it in court. She works with families from the South Shore, the North Shore, Cape Cod and the surrounding Boston area. In-person meetings in Quincy, Braintree and Norwell will resume later in 2021. Your initial call is free. Learn more: jrkaplanlaw.com
If you're married to the other parent
If you're married and seeking a divorce, you file your divorce complaint or joint petition where you last lived together with your spouse if at least one of you still lives in that county. If you've both moved from the county where you last lived together, then you can file in the county where either you or your spouse now lives.
You can file a Joint Petition for Divorce if your divorce in uncontested.
If you're seeking a divorce, see divorce for information and forms. If you want to file for separate support but don't want a divorce, see separate support for information and forms.
If you aren't married to the other parent
If the other parent hasn't signed a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity (a legal form signed by the mother and father, acknowledging they are the parents of the child) or been determined by a judge to be the parent, file a Complaint to Establish Paternity (CJD 106) in the county where the child lives.
If you aren't married to the other parent but paternity has been established by a voluntary acknowledgment or a court judgment, file a Complaint for Support, Custody, Visitation (CJD 109) in the county where the child lives.
Attorney/Mediator Kaplan can also assist with negotiations and a settlement if you are not married to the other parent.
For more information about child support in Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/get-a-child-support-order