Child Support Enforcement

The Boyd County Attorney Child Support Division  process over 2,000 cases annually. The Child Support Division offers a variety of services, including:   

  • ·  Location of non-custodial parents
  • ·  Establishment of paternity
  • ·  Establishment of financial and medical support
  • ·  Enforcement and collection of support payments and medical support
  • ·  Review and modification of support order
     

Kentucky Child Support Interactive Website

  • Kentucky Child Support Enforcement has an interactive website where you can apply for child support services, estimate a child support obligation, make your child support payments, report address changes, upload court orders and other legal documents, verify payment history and past due child support amounts and request updates on ongoing child support actions.

The Process            

Under Kentucky law, both parents have a duty to support their child or children, and both have a right to expect the other parent to assist with support. To begin the process of collecting support, the custodial parent (person having custody of the child) can come to the Child Support Division to fill out a request for assistance or complete an online application. Upon completing the required forms with our office, we will determine if paternity has been established.

If paternity has not been established, our office will first file a paternity petition because under Kentucky law, the parent, or parents, cannot be ordered to pay child support until their status has been legally established. There are a variety of ways to establish paternity and our caseworkers will work with you through this specific process. However, a paternity suit must be brought before the child’s 18th birthday. If it is brought before the child turns four years old, the child support order can be retroactive to (take effect on) the child’s date of birth.

Once paternity has been established, the Child Support Division will help you proceed with having the Court set a child support payment for the non-custodial parent. In Kentucky statutes KRS 403.211 and KRS 403.212, there is a statutorily created Child Support Guideline chart that sets out how much parents are expected to pay to support their children. The guidelines are primarily based on the number of children and the combined income of both parents. The Kentucky Child Support website can assist you in calculating how much monthly child support you may expect. However, these are guidelines, and the parties, by agreement, or the Court may deviate from them based on the facts of a particular case.

Once the child support amount is established by the Court’s Order, it can only be modified under certain circumstances. KRS 403.213 sets forth the criteria for modifying child support. KRS 403.213 states that the child support obligation can only be modified if there is a “material change in circumstances that is substantial and continuing.” The same statute goes on to state that a “material change in circumstances” is presumed to have occurred if the proposed modification would results in at least a 15% change in the amount of monthly support.

In the event that the non-custodial parent does not pay child support as ordered, the Child Support Division can assist you with collection through legal processes. In order for the Child Support Division to assist you, the non-custodial parent must be behind in an amount equal to one month’s obligation. Some of the remedies that the Child Support Division can use to enforce child support orders include:

  • Court action resulting in jail time
  • Interception of tax refund (state and federal)
  • Passport denial
  • Liens
  • Driver’s, professional/occupational or wildlife (hunting/fishing) or CCDW license revocation/denial
  • Levying financial institution (bank) accounts
  • Withholding of unemployment benefits


Pay by Telephone

To pay by telephone, call your local child support office at (606)739-5828.  The Commonwealth accepts all major credit cards.  There is a 3% fee for payments made by debit or credit card. 

 Pay in Person

  • To pay in person, bring money order, cashier’s check, or personal check to the Division of Child Support, 2717 Louisa Street, Catlettsburg, Kentucky.   Make sure to bring payment to this location by 3 PM.  There is NO CASH ACCEPTED.
  • Pay by Mail
  • To pay by mail, send a personal check, money order, or cashier’s check to the address below. Make the payment payable to Child Support Enforcement and write your name and child support IV-D number on the payment.

     Child Support Enforcement
     PO Box 14059
     Lexington, KY 40512