Child Support

"If you want a court order for child support, you must file a divorce/parenting action or seek assistance through the Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Child Support Services."

"Child support cases may be heard by a Child Support Hearings Officer, sometimes called a Child Support Referee. The hearings officer is a lawyer appointed by the Family Division Administrative Judge, pursuant to RSA 490-F:15."

'Every child living in NH has a legal right to financial support from both parents, even if the parents are divorced, separated or never married. The Bureau of Child Support Services (BCSS) program encourages responsible parenting, family self-sufficiency and child well-being by providing assistance in locating parents, establishing paternity, establishing, modifying and enforcing support obligations and obtaining child and medical support for children.'

'NH Child Support Guidelines establishes a uniform system to determine an amount of child support. Guidelines are updated yearly and are effective April 1 of each year.'

'Under New Hampshire law, all parents must support their children. In most cases, the parent who is responsible for the child's primary residence is the parent to receive child support from the other.'

'OCSE partners with federal, state, tribal and local governments and others to promote parental responsibility so that children receive support from both parents even when they live in separate households.'

'The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program was enacted in 1975 as a federal-state program (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, P.L. 93-647). It is intended to help strengthen families by securing financial support for children from their noncustodial parent on a consistent and continuing basis and by helping some of these families to remain self-sufficient and off public assistance.'

"The Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (the Convention) was adopted at the Hague Conference on Private International Law on November 23, 2007. The Convention contains procedures for processing international child support cases that are intended to be uniform, simple, efficient, accessible, and cost-free to U.S. citizens seeking child support in other countries. The United States was the first country to sign the Convention."