Legal Corner

***Please be advised to current procedures due to COVID-19***

Due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns all child support related court hearings are currently taking place by telephone only.  On the date of your hearing you must call the appropriate phone number below no later than 8:30am and leave a voicemail to check in for your court appearance.  Someone from DCSS will call you back to discuss your case.  If your matter can be resolved they will submit the agreed upon order for you.  If your matter requires a court hearing you will be provided additional information as to what time and which court department to call for your hearing.

Riverside (Department DCS):       951-955-4520

Hemet (Department DCH):           951-791-2251

Indio (Department DCI):               760-863-2980

COVID-19: Electronic Service of Documents (California Rules of Court Update) (Click here for more information)

The court process begins when our office files a Summons and Complaint with the court to get a child support order. The Summons and Complaint includes:

• Names and dates of birth of the children for whom a finding of parentage and child support are requested.
• Name of the other parent of the children, if the children are in their custody
• Amount of child support requested,
• Address and telephone number of the court, and
• Address and telephone number of our office.

The Summons and Complaint and a blank Answer will either be personally delivered to the parent from whom child support is sought, or if after several unsuccessful attempts by a process server to deliver the documents personally, they may be left with any other adult who resides with the parent for whom support is sought or at the parent’s place of employment.  If the documents are left with anyone other than the parent from whom child support is sought, a copy of those documents will also be mailed to the parent at their place of residence.  This is done within 90 days of locating the parent and is called "service of process".

The parent served a Summons and Complaint must file with the Court and serve on DCSS an Answer to the Complaint or Supplemental Complaint Regarding Parental Obligations form (form FL-610) within 30 days of receiving the Summons and Complaint. This is important in order to avoid having a Judgment entered against them without their participation. If the parent served does not respond in writing within 30 days, the court will enter the orders of parentage and child support requested in the Proposed Judgment served with the Summons and Complaint must fill out and file the Answer with the court within 30 days. If the person served does not respond in writing within 30 days, the court will set child support with the information it has. A parent served a Summons and Complaint should call or visit our office or the Family Law Facilitator to talk about the case.

Our office uses the same child support guidelines the court uses. If the noncustodial parent agrees to pay the guidelines amount of child support, an agreement, or stipulation, is may be prepared. The court usually approves the stipulation without requiring the noncustodial parent to come to court.

Link to CA Judicial Council form FL-610: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl610.pdf

If you already have a child support order and were recently served with a Notice of Motion filed by DCSS, you should file a written response to the requests outlined in the Notice of Motion.  You can submit your response by completing, filing and serving the Response to Governmental Notice of Motion or Order to Show Cause form (form FL-685) prior to your scheduled court hearing date.

Link to CA Judicial Council form FL-685: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl685.pdf

If you are scheduled for a court hearing to establish or modify your child support order you must file with the Court and serve on DCSS a completed Income and Expense Declaration form (form FL-150).  If you previously filed an Income and Expense Declaration form with the Court you will be required to file a new one if your circumstances have since changed or if you filed it more than 90 days prior to your hearing date.

CA Rules of Court, Rule 5.260(a)(3) requires both parties to complete, file and serve a current Income and Expense Declaration on all parties, “current” means the form has been completed within the past three months providing no facts have changed.

Always bring a copy of this completed form and all attachments with you to your hearing.

Link to CA Judicial Council form FL-150: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl150.pdf

PROPOSED JUDGEMENT

Together with a Summons and Complaint, our office will serve a Proposed Judgment. This Proposed Judgment becomes the final order of the court if the other person does not respond.

THE ANSWER

If the parent served with the Summons and Complaint files an Answer (Response), he/she has the right to a court hearing. The parent also has the right to have the court determine how much support he/she will have to pay. If the person served with the Summons and Complaint denies that he is the father of the child(ren) and the issue of parentage is in fact at issue, he has the right to request genetic testing.

MODIFICATION OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS

All orders for child support must include a wage and earnings assignment requiring the paying parent’s employer to deduct support payments from  his/her salary or wages. The parents may also be ordered to provide private health insurance for their child(ren) if it is available to them at no cost or reasonable cost through their employment or union affiliation.

If you are the parent ordered to pay support, please click on the About Your Child Support Order hyperlink. You will be navigated to an informational flyer that provides important information about wage withholdings, support payments, and your responsibility.

Either parent can request our office to review his/her case for modification. The child support order may be modified anytime there has been a change in circumstances to one of the guideline factors, such as visitation percentage, income, or a new biological or adopted child residing in your home. Based on financial and other information provided to our office we will determine if a modification for a higher or lower amount is recommended. Both parents will be informed of our decision.

If one or more of the children change their primary residence to that of the paying parent, both parents should contact DCSS immediately to commence a modification of the order.  If one or more of your children resided with you during a period of time that you were billed to pay child support for them, you may be able to request relief from the court for the arrears that accumulated during that time if they continue to remain owing.  To be considered for this type of relief, you must file your own request with the court.  If you need assistance you should contact the Riverside Superior Court Self-Help Services Department by email at childsupport@riverside.courts.ca.gov or by phone:  951-274-4499 or 760-393-2163.

If the non-custodial parent is or will be incarcerated for 60 consecutive days or more, the non-custodial parent may request to lower his/her current support order by submitting a completed Inmate Modification Request  with attachments to our office. If you have any questions regarding this request, please contact our office.

ACCOUNT BALANCE DISPUTES

The Account Balance Disputes pamphlet is to be used when you believe that the local child support agency’s financial account records including payments, charges, amounts owed to welfare and arrears balance are not correct. The pamphlet describes what information the Riverside Department of Child Support Services needs from you in order to investigate your concerns and also includes an Audit Request Form to use should you continue to have questions after reviewing the payments and charges on your account.

Click here to view and print this pamphlet.

Please return the completed Accounts Balance Dispute pamphlet by mail or in person to the nearest Riverside County Department of Child Support Services office.

COMPLAINT RESOLUTION

You can file a complaint, orally or in writing, if you are not satisfied with the assistance you are receiving from our office in resolving your child support issues. Only custodial parties or noncustodial parents can file a complaint with our office. Complaints may be about any county Department of Child Support Services or Franchise Tax Board action or inaction except for complaints about court orders, custody or visitation. Complaints must be made within 90 days of when you knew, or should have known, about the problem.

When filing a complaint, you should provide our office with your contact information, the case name and number, and a brief description of your concerns.

Our office will have someone other than the caseworker involved with your complaint investigate and try to resolve your complaint.

If your complaint needs to be resolved in another California county, your complaint will be sent to the right county within five days. Our office must give you a written response to your complaint within 30 days of when we received your complaint.

The investigator will tell us or the Franchise Tax Board what they must do to resolve the issue , if appropriate.