State Expectations of Parents
The law in Pennsylvania states that the custodial parent (the parent that the child lives with), any adult or agency caring for a minor child, or any married individual living apart from his/her spouse may request support from the absent parent or spouse. The law states that both parents have an obligation to support their children, but the monetary amount of the support obligation depends on many factors.
The most important factor is the net income of each parent. The way that the Domestic Relations Section determines net income is described later in this manual. Both parents are expected to support their children as much as they are financially able.
Dependent Child Tax Claim Purposes
The parent who has custody of the child more than 50% of the time claims the child as a dependent for income tax purposes. This can be changed only if the custodial parent (the one with whom the child lives) fills out and submits IRS form 8332. This form allows the absent parent (the parent with whom the child does not live) to claim the child as a dependent. Parents cannot claim a child as a dependent if more than half of the child support came from a third source, such as public assistance.
Generally, a child has the legal right to receive support until his or her 18th birthday, or until graduation from high school. Parents may also be required to pay child support for a child that has been placed outside of the home by a Juvenile Court Judge or child welfare agency, such as Montgomery County Children and Youth Services. In those instances the local county is the plaintiff, and both parents are expected to reimburse the county as much as they can afford, as determined by state guidelines.
How to Apply for Support
If you wish to begin a new support case or reopen an old case please choose one of the options below to submit a support request.
To file a new request for support you may do so by using E-Services on the PA Child Support Website, www.humanservices.state.pa.us. If you have never registered on the website, you must do so first then submit the Request for Support Services. This will be the most expedited process. Please submit as much information as possible when completing the request.
In the event you are unable to submit online, MCDRS accepts filings via email, fax, mail, or the self-service kiosk located in the lobby of the Domestic Relations Section. You must complete the required forms: Application for Support Services; Intake Information Questionnaire/Data Sheet; and a Complaint for Support. The forms must be legibly completed, in their entirety. If the request includes APL you must also submit a time-stamped copy of the Divorce Complaint or Answer and Counterclaim.
Fillable forms are available upon request. Please send an email to Intake-Montgomery@PACSES.com to request the forms or if you have any questions regarding the filing process. The date of filing will be the date that all required filing forms are received.
To complete the filing you will need to provide documents and participate in a Remote Intake Interview. If the Respondent does not reside in Montgomery County (PA) additional forms and documents may be required to proceed with the support request. Upon the documents being received you will be contacted to schedule the Intake Interview.
Please note, you may not take pictures of documents you plan to submit to our office with your mobile device. If you have either an iOS (Apple) or Android smartphone, your device has the ability to "scan" documents from these devices. Follow the below how-to-guides made available by the device manufacturers;