How Child Support Is Calculated in Wyoming

Wyoming uses an income shares model. The parents' combined net monthly income is applied to statutory tables by number of children to find the total support obligation, which is divided between the parents in proportion to their net incomes; the noncustodial parent pays their share to the custodial parent through the clerk. A self-support reserve and a reduced amount for certain joint physical custody arrangements (each parent keeps the children overnight more than 25% of the year) can apply. The state offers an online child support calculator.

Parents can apply for services from the Wyoming Child Support Program online through its self-service portal, or ask the local child support office for a paper application. The program says it does not charge an application fee. A federally required one-time $35 annual fee is withheld from the next payment once $550 has been collected in a federal fiscal year.

An ongoing child support obligation ends when the child reaches the age of majority (18), is legally emancipated or dies, or when the parents marry or remarry each other. A parent's duty of support continues past 18 for a child who is between 18 and 20 and attending high school or an equivalent program full time, and for a child who is mentally or physically disabled and therefore unable to support themselves.

Any party, or the Department of Family Services for orders it enforces, may petition for review and adjustment of an order that was entered or last adjusted more than six months earlier, if applying the guidelines would change support by 20% or more per month; a change that large counts as a change of circumstances justifying modification. A party may also seek modification at any time based on a substantial change of circumstances. Every three years, at either parent's request, the court reviews an order being enforced and may adjust it to the guidelines without any showing of changed circumstances. Support generally cannot be changed retroactively, except back to the date the other party was served with the petition. Parents can ask the local child support office for a review; the office does not handle custody or visitation changes.

The local child support office decides the most effective collection method, including income withholding, tax refund interception and license suspension. When a parent is behind under a court order, a court can order the parent's driver's license, and professional, occupational, hunting or fishing licenses, withheld, suspended or restricted unless the parent pays the full arrearage or enters a payment plan approved by the Department of Family Services. Each unpaid installment paid through the clerk becomes a judgment by operation of law on its due date. A court can order a parent to show cause and hold a parent who willfully violated a support order in contempt, and can order an unemployed able-bodied parent into a work program. The program says parents who owe more than $1,000 are generally reported to the credit bureau.

Wyoming's child support agency is the Wyoming Child Support Program, a program of the Wyoming Department of Family Services. It establishes paternity, sets up, collects on and modifies child support orders, and locates parents; there are no income limits and no application fee. Apply online, or request a paper application from your local child support office. Non-custodial parents can pay online (Child Support Bill Pay or ExpertPay), in cash at participating retailers through PayNearMe, or by mailing a check or money order with the case number to the State of Wyoming Disbursement Unit, 2300 Capitol Avenue, Hathaway Bldg, Fifth Floor, Suite A, Cheyenne, WY 82002. Customer Service Center: 307-777-6948.

The Wyoming Child Support Program offers an online Child Support Calculator on its self-service portal to calculate an estimate of child support using Wyoming's statutory guidelines (formula). The program says the calculator is informational and educational only, does not guarantee the amount that will be ordered and is not legal advice; the court has the final authority to determine the amount of support.