How do you know if you’ve gotten all your child support?

As a parent with primary custody of your child in Massachusetts, it’s important to make sure that you’re getting the child support you need and deserve. Child support is awarded so you can give your child everything he or she needs despite not having both parents in the home. If you’re not receiving it, then the other parent is committing a crime.

To determine if you’re receiving all your child support payments, you need to do a few things. First, remember that you may get several deposits or checks of varying amounts. It doesn’t matter how the other person pays, as long as you get the full amount you’re due by the due date. So, to determine if you’ve received enough child support, follow these steps.

Look at the payments you’ve received. Do you have one for every Friday of the month? If not, the other person may be behind on his or her child support obligation. If all the checks are there, then multiply the amount you’re supposed to get each week by the number of Fridays. For example, if you’re meant to get $20 per week and there are four Fridays in the month, you should receive $80 for the month.

Now, add up the checks you have. If you received one for $1, one for $13, one for $16, and one for $50, then that adds up to $80. That means all the child support you were supposed to get did come to you. If the numbers don’t add up, then it’s possible that you haven’t been paid the right amount or that the child support due to you has expired, meaning all the money owed has already been paid to you.

Source: Department of Revenue, “How to Determine If You Have Received All Of Your Child Support” accessed Mar. 19, 2015