questions & answers

Question: My husband started paying his child support to his ex-wife once the amount was determined - before the official court order was issued. He was paying child support directly to her instead of the Clearing House. He did this for a year. The Clearing House now says that he owes back child support and $2000 in interest. We have all of the cancelled checks. Can we dispute this?

Answer:

According to a DES pamphlet: https://www.azdes.gov/InternetFiles/Pamphlets/pdf/CSE-1084APAMNA.pdf

What if I paid support directly to the custodial parent?

If you have made payments directly to the other parent, you must let DCSS know.  You will have to provide DCSS with proof of your direct payments. DCSS can also ask the other parents about direct payments.  If the other parent denies receiving support payments directly from you, only a court will be able to determine if you should be given credit for those payments.

There are several ways you can contact DCSS;

By Mail:  Please be sure to include your ATLAS case number with all correspondence that you send to DCSS. Our mailing address is PO Box 40458, Phoenix, AZ 85067.

By Telephone:  Our Customer Service Department is available Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 5:30pm excluding holidays observed by the State of Arizona.  The phone numbers to call are 602-252-4045 or toll free at 1-800-882-4151.

Online:  You may contact DCSS at any time through our online correspondence system by logging on to our website to access your case information and using the "Contact Us" option.  You should receive a response to your inquiry within 3 business days or less.

By Fax:  The fax number for DCSS Customer Service is 602-248-3126. You can obtain the fax number for the local office that handles your case by calling our Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system and going to our FAQ's. All of our offices are listed, including their addresses and fax numbers. You may also locate an office near you through our website.