Do You Owe Child Support & Need a Break?
If you owe past due child support (arrears), there are options available to you to reduce that balance:
- Increase your payments towards arrears. In California, the principal balance is paid first so, not only will your principal balance be lowered, you will be paying less in interest each month.
- Talk to your caseworker about the Compromise of Arrears Program (COAP) in which the state will forgive part of the arrears owed to the state. Child support becomes due to the state when your children received public assistance. If you would like to know more, check out the California Child Support Webpage, call your caseworker at 866-901-3212 or complete the Application (PDF) and mail it in.
- Talk to your caseworker about a lump sum offer to the other parent to reduce your arrears balance. Your caseworker can work with both parties to see if a compromise can be reached.
Calculate Your Payment
There is an
online arrears calculator available to you. It is a simple tool you can use to estimate the total cost and time it will take you to pay off your past due balance, based on the arrears payment you are making.