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Legal Information: District of Columbia

Child Support

Laws current as of August 30, 2024

Who can file for child support?

You can seek child support if the child is living with you most of the time. Both parents have a legal obligation to support their child.1 If you share custody with the other parent, you can still request child support. If you and the other parent both have the child in your care an equal amount of time, a judge may still issue a child support order. In some shared physical custody situations, the parent who earns more money may have to pay child support to the other parent.2

1 D.C. Code § 16–901(8); D.C. Child Support Services Division website
2 D.C. Code § 16-916.01(q)(1), (q)(2)

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