How to ask for child support as part of a 209A restraining order case

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Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
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Getting child support as part of a 209A restraining order is an important decision. Child support can help you and your children. But only you can decide if you need child support to keep you and your children safe. Only you can decide if it is safe to ask for child support as part of your 209A order.

If you need child support to be included in your 209A restraining order, you will need to:

  1. Decide which court you are going to.
  2. Decide if you want the Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division (DOR/CSE) to collect child support for you.
  3. Check Box 7 on page 1 of the Complaint for Protection from Abuse and fill out the extra forms you need.
  4. Know that the judge will probably not order child support at the first hearing. The first hearing is the one where you go to court for a temporary order, and the defendant does not know about the case yet. You will have to come back for a second hearing to extend the order.
  5. At the second hearing be ready to explain why you need child support.
  6. Know what to say if the judge tells you to go to a different court.

You may be able to get help asking for child support as part of a restraining order from a Safeplan advocate.

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How can a 209A child support order help me?

Getting child support in your 209A restraining order can help you and your children because:

  • it will help you take care of your children on your own;
  • it will help pay for things your children may need because you are leaving the abusive person;
  • it will help get child support sooner than going through a separate child support case;
  • you will not have to deal with the abusive person in another child support case;
  • the abusive person will not be allowed to contact you about child support;
  • The Department of Revenue/Child Support Enforcement Division can collect the child support from the abuser for you -
  • the abuser does not need to know where you are.

But, there are times when you might decide not to ask for child support.  If you are worried about whether asking for child support is safe, see: Child Support when the other parent has abused you.

Which court do I go to?

Any court that handles 209A restraining order cases can order child support as part of that case. District Courts, Boston Municipal Courts, and the Probate and Family Courts handle 209A cases. If you have time to decide about which court to go to, think about:

  • Which court is the safest one for you;
  • Which court is the easiest for you to get to;
  • Probate and Family Courts may ask you for more complicated paperwork; and
  • What to say if the judge at District or Boston Municipal Courts tells you to go to the Probate and Family Court for child support.
  • Which court has advocates at the courthouse to help you with the process.
What paperwork do I need?
  1. Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A), Page 1 
  2. Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A), Page 2: Issues Pertaining to Children
  3. Plaintiff Confidential Information Form
  4. Defendant Information Form

Get blank copies of the forms here.

You will also need to fill out these child support forms:

  1. Plaintiff's Affidavit in Support of Request for a Child Support Order,
  2. the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet,

And if you file in Probate and Family Court you may need:

  1. Financial Statement, and
  2. Motion for Impoundment and Affidavit.

How do I ask for child support on these forms?

These are the things you need to do to ask the judge for child support when you are filing for a 209A restraining order.

Remember: You are the “plaintiff”. The abusive person is the “defendant.”

Page 1 Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A)
Section J of the form starts, “Therefore I ask the court”. Check all the boxes that tell the court what you need. If you need child support, check Box 7. Box 7 tells the judge you are also filing page 2 of the Complaint form. Page 2 is about children. 

See a sample page 1 with affidavit.

Page 2 Complaint for Protection from Abuse (G.L. c. 209A)

This page says "Issues Pertaining to Children" at the top. To ask for child support, check the box in Section F. TEMPORARY SUPPORT. Section F is at the bottom of the page. 

See a sample page 2. The box in part F that asks for temporary support is checked.

Plaintiff's Affidavit in Support of Request for a Child Support Order

Use this form to tell the judge what they need to know about your income, the defendant's income, and expenses. It is okay if you do not have proof but believe the information is true as far as you know.
When you sign it, you are swearing it is the truth. 

See a Sample Affidavit in Support of Request for Child Support Order.

Financial Statement  

If you file your 209A restraining order case in the Probate and Family Court, you may have to file a Financial Statement also. See How to Fill Out a Financial Statement. The defendant would also have to file a Financial Statement.

There are steps you can take if you are worried about your address or other information being shared with the abusive person. If you are asking the judge to keep your contact information private in your restraining order case, you should not put it on the Financial Statement either. This may include your address, phone number, or information about where you work.

Motion for Impoundment and Affidavit

You may need to keep other information in the Financial Statement private also. File a Motion for Impoundment and Affidavit to ask the judge to keep the defendant from seeing the other information.

See a Sample Motion for Impoundment and Affidavit

Here are some additional sample forms:

What do I do after I fill out the paperwork for a restraining order?

Give the signed and completed paperwork  to the clerk at the court. This is called “filing the complaint.”

Next, you will talk to the judge in the courtroom. They read your complaint and your affidavit.

They may ask you questions. This first hearing is called an "ex-parte hearing." “Ex-parte” means the defendant is not present at the hearing.

You can remind the judge that you are asking for child support as part of your 209A restraining order. The judge needs to check off certain boxes of the restraining order to tell the abusive person that they might order child support at the second hearing.

See: What happens after I file to learn more about what happens at this hearing.
 

What happens if the judge gives me the order?

If the judge gives you the ex-parte restraining order, they will:

  • Schedule a 2nd hearing within 10 business days.
  • Order the defendant be “served” with a copy of the order.
  • Give the restraining order to the clerk. The clerk will give you copies of the order before you leave the courthouse.

Read the order before you leave the courthouse. Make sure the information on the order is right, and that box #13 on the order is checked off. This tells the abusive person that child support can be decided at the next hearing. If you find a mistake, go back to the clerk and explain what is wrong. If the clerk cannot correct the mistake, you will need to go back in front of the judge to get the order corrected.

See a Sample Abuse Prevention Order.

What happens at the second hearing, the "10-day"or "extension" hearing?

At the "10-day"or "extension" hearing, the judge will listen to both sides. Explain why you need the restraining order. Tell the judge exactly why you need everything you have asked for. Learn more about what happens at the 10-day hearing.

Once the judge has decided that they are going to extend your restraining order, tell the judge why you need child support in your 209A restraining order. Some reasons why you might need child support are:

  • You do not have enough money to take care of your children on your own;
  • You need child support right now to be able to look after you children and be safe;
  • The children need support right now;
  • It will take too long to get a child support order in a whole new case in family court;
  • You do not know right now whether you are going to file for a divorce;
  • You feel that it is not safe for you to have to take the defendant to court again for child support.

If the judge agrees to order child support, they will look at the court papers and documents to decide how much child support to order. You don’t have to file a Child Support Worksheet if you ask for child support as part of a restraining order. But, you can fill out this form for yourself so you have an idea of how much the child support would be. The judge will look at:

  1. your Plaintiff's Affidavit in Support of Request for a Child Support Order,
  2. the Defendant's Affidavit in Connection with Request for Child Support Order, and
  3. the financial records the judge ordered the Defendant to bring to the hearing. These records are listed next to box 13 on the Abuse Prevention Order form.
     
How can I tell that the judge put child support in the order?

The judge checks off the boxes for child support next to Box 9 in Section A of the Abuse Prevention Order.

What do I do after the judge gives me a child support order?

During your hearing, the judge may ask if you want the abusive person to send the money directly to you or if you want it paid through the Department of Revenue. It is up to you and what you think is safest. If you want the Department of Revenue (DOR/CSE) to collect the child support from the defendant's employer and send it to you:

  1. Ask the judge to check the first box in section 9 of the Abuse Prevention Order, the child support part of the restraining order;
  2. Also, you can fill out an Application for DOR Child Support Enforcement Services:
    1. The application has a place for your name and address so that DOR/CSE will know where to send your child support,
    2. Be sure to read the section about Disclosure of Information on page 4 of the application,
    3. In Section 5 of the application you can tell DOR about your restraining order and about your safety concerns, including concerns about giving out your address;
  3. Make copies of each document for yourself before you send it to DOR. You can also fill out the application online.
  4. Mail the application and a copy of the court order to:
             Massachusetts Department of Revenue
             Child Support Enforcement Division 
             P.O Box 7057
             Boston, MA 02204
What if the judge tells me they can’t order child support and I have to go to the Probate and Family Court instead?

Some District Court judges think they should not, or cannot, make child support orders. Some judges think that making child support orders is the Probate and Family Court’s job. They may tell you to go to the Probate and Family Court instead.

To try to stop this from happening to you, you can remind the judge of the following points, if they apply to you:

  • Explain that you and your children will be safer if you can get support ordered now. You will not have to have contact with the abuser for a while. Explain that you do not feel safe facing your abuser on another day in a different court. This is a time of crisis. You need child support now. You need time to think and decide on the next step that is safest for you and your children.
  • Probate and Family Court child support cases take too long. If you have to go to the Probate and Family Court it may take too long to get a hearing, and you need the support now.
  • Filing a divorce or support case in Probate and Family Court costs a lot of money, which you do not have.
  • If you are married to the defendant, filing for divorce or separation may not be the best thing for you at this time. The judge may ask you to explain why you are not ready for divorce. Make sure you have an answer to this question.
  • The nearest Probate and Family Court may be too hard to get to.
  • To file for support in the Probate and Family Court you will need to take more time off from work, which you cannot afford to do and still provide for yourself and your children.
  • The law says you have a right to ask for child support in your 209A restraining order. Guideline 2:07, page 57 and Guideline 6:05B, page 151 of the Abuse Prevention Guidelines both say very clearly that plaintiffs seeking protection in District Court and Boston Municipal Court (this is you) should not be referred to the Probate and Family Court for child support.
     

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