In Wisconsin, child support is calculated using a set of guidelines published in the Wisconsin Administrative Code. These guidelines were formerly published in Chapter HSS 80, and many people still refer to them as the "HSS 80 guidelines".
With the reorganization of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, these guidelines are now found in Chapter DWD 40. You can see DWD 40 in the Law Library. To view DWD 40 or the rest of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, you can also go to the Wisconsin Revisor of Statutes Site.
In general, the guidelines require a person paying child support to pay a percentage of their gross income (income before deductions) as child support. The guidelines are:
DWD 40 provides formulas for calculating child support for situations where all the children live with one parent, where they spend substantial time with both parents, or where each parent has some of the children.
For payment information on your child support account, you should call the Wisconsin Child Support Collection Trust at 1-800-991-5530. You should have your PIN number ready when you call.
Child support payments should be sent to:
Wisconsin Support Collection Trust FundTo ensure that your payment is properly applied, you should include the appropriate payment coupon.
There is a $35 Receiving and Disbursing fee due with the first child support payment each year. This is a processing fee charged by the state.
For child support enforcement services, you may contact your lawyer, or you may contact the Green County Child Support Enforcement Agency at:
Child Support EnforcementFor more information, try the Department of Workforce Development's web page Child Support Information for Parents
The obligation to pay child support continues until age 18, or until age 19 if the child is pursuing a high school diploma or equivalent.
To terminate support at that time, the payor can hire an attorney to do the necessary paperwork, or may contact the Green County Child Support Agency and ask that the child support order be terminated. The Child Support Agency must be provided with proof that the child is 18 years old and has graduated from high school, or the date the child will be graduating.
While current support for the specific child will end, any support obligation for other children will continue. In addition, any wage assignment will not end until all debts have been paid in full, including receiving and disbursing fees.
For general information on child support enforcement, you may want to view the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development page entitled "What Happens If I Don't Pay Child Support?". For more child support information on the web, check out the Wisconsin Child Support Bureau.
When the earnings of a person who is responsible for child support cannot easily be determined by the court, the average wage for Green County may be used. The 2004 version of the Green County Workforce Profile can be found here.