Child support in Wyoming ensures that children receive financial support from both parents, regardless of whether those parents live together, are divorced, or were never married. The state has clear guidelines for calculating payments, establishing orders, and enforcing obligations to protect children's well-being.
What is child support in Wyoming?
Child support is a court-ordered payment that one parent makes to the other parent to help cover the costs of raising their children. In Wyoming, both parents have a legal obligation to financially support their children, and the state has established a systematic approach to determining fair support amounts.
Who is responsible for child support?
Both parents share financial responsibility for their children under Wyoming law. The custodial parent (where children primarily live) typically meets their support obligation by directly paying for daily needs like housing, food, and clothing. The noncustodial parent (who has the children less than 50% of the time) typically makes monthly cash payments to help cover these expenses.
In shared custody situations where both parents have significant parenting time, the higher-earning parent usually pays support to ensure children enjoy similar living standards in both homes.
What expenses does child support cover?
Wyoming child support covers a child's basic living expenses: housing, food, clothing, school supplies, personal care items, transportation, and reasonable recreational activities. It does not automatically cover extraordinary expenses like private school tuition, extensive medical costs not covered by insurance, or costly extracurricular programs. These are often addressed separately in divorce decrees or support orders.
How long does child support last?
In Wyoming, child support obligations generally continue until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later (but the child must be under age 20 when graduating). Children with physical or mental disabilities that prevent them from becoming self-supporting may receive support indefinitely. Parents can agree to continue support beyond high school for college, but this must be included in a court order.
How is child support calculated in Wyoming?
Wyoming uses a specific formula called the "income shares model" to calculate child support obligations. This approach ensures children receive the same proportion of parental income they would have received if the family remained together.
Wyoming protects low-income paying parents with a "self-support reserve" based on the federal poverty level (currently about $1,304 per month). If paying the calculated child support would leave a parent with less than this amount, the support payment is reduced to ensure they can meet basic needs.
How do you establish a child support order?
Getting an official child support order requires going through Wyoming's legal system.
If you're getting divorced
When married parents divorce, child support is automatically addressed as part of the divorce proceedings. Both parents complete financial affidavits, provide documentation like pay stubs and tax returns, propose custody arrangements, and calculate presumptive support using Wyoming's guidelines. The final divorce decree includes the child support order.
If you were never married
Unmarried parents can establish child support through the Wyoming Child Support Program (free services available at 307-777-5300 or childsupport.wyoming.gov) or by filing directly in District Court. If parents were never married, legal paternity must be established first through voluntary acknowledgment, court-ordered genetic testing, or court proceedings.
How are child support payments made?
Wyoming has specific requirements for how child support payments must be handled to ensure proper tracking and accountability.
The State Disbursement Unit (SDU)
All Wyoming child support payments must go through the State Disbursement Unit unless the court specifically orders otherwise. The SDU receives payments, maintains accurate records, forwards payments to receiving parents, tracks arrears, and provides payment history to both parents.
Income withholding orders
Most child support orders include an automatic income withholding order requiring the paying parent's employer to withhold the child support amount from each paycheck and send it directly to the SDU. This is mandatory unless both parents agree in writing to a different arrangement or the judge finds good cause not to require it.
Never pay child support directly to the other parent in cash or personal checks—without going through the SDU, there's no official record.
What happens if child support isn't paid?
Wyoming takes child support enforcement seriously and has multiple tools to collect overdue payments.
Enforcement through the Wyoming Child Support Program
The Wyoming Child Support Program provides free enforcement services, including income withholding, tax refund interception, license suspension (driver's, professional, and recreational licenses), financial account seizure, credit reporting, passport denial, lottery winnings interception, and property liens.
Contempt of court proceedings
The receiving parent may file a motion seeking the court's contempt sanction against the non-paying parent. If successful, the judge may order immediate payment of past-due support, impose fines, order payment of attorney fees, or even sentence the parent to imprisonment. Contempt proceedings are serious legal actions that typically require an attorney's help.
What you cannot do
You cannot withhold visitation because child support payments are late, and the paying parent cannot stop paying because they're being denied time with the children. These are separate legal issues requiring court intervention.
Can you modify a child support order?
Yes. Life circumstances change, and Wyoming law allows modification of child support orders when appropriate.
Grounds for modification
You can request a modification in three situations:
Substantial change in circumstances
File at any time if you prove a major change like significant income changes, job loss, major changes in child care costs, substantial medical expenses, or changes in custody arrangements.
The 20% rule
If at least six months have passed since the order was issued or last reviewed, either parent can request a review. If a new calculation would result in a 20% or greater difference, that automatically qualifies as grounds for modification.
Three-year review
Every three years, either parent can request a review without proving any change happened.
How to modify your order
File a petition for modification with the District Court, serve the other parent, provide updated financial information, attend a hearing if parents don't agree, and receive the modified order from the judge. Modifications are only retroactive to when the other parent was formally served, so file as soon as you know you need a change.
Where can you get help with child support?
The Wyoming Child Support Program offers free services to help parents establish paternity, obtain child support orders, enforce existing orders, modify orders when circumstances change, and collect past-due support. Contact them at (307) 777-5300 or toll-free (888) 570-9914, or visit childsupport.wyoming.gov.
Wyoming courts self-help resources
The Wyoming Courts website (wyocourts.gov) provides self-help forms for child support cases, instructions for filing, information about court procedures, and links to local court rules. Look under "Family Law" for packets related to establishing child support, divorce with children, or child support modification.
Private attorneys
While the Wyoming Child Support Program helps many parents, some situations may benefit from retaining a private attorney, including complex income calculations, contested modification requests, enforcement through contempt proceedings, cases involving deviations from guideline amounts, or situations where the other parent has an attorney.
Wyoming child support is designed to ensure that children receive financial support from both parents, based on a fair calculation of each parent's ability to pay. By following Wyoming's guidelines, paying through the State Disbursement Unit, and promptly addressing changes through the court when needed, parents can meet their obligations while minimizing conflict and protecting their children's well-being. The Wyoming Child Support Program provides free assistance to help parents navigate the child support system and ensure children receive the support they are entitled to.