The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 15 : Domestic Relations

Chapter 011 : Annulment and Divorce

Subchapter 003A : Child Custody and Support

• § 663. Support orders; required contents

  (a) Every order for child support made or modified under this chapter shall be issued in a standardized format and sent to the Registry in the Office of Child Support. The order shall include:

  (1) The name, address, e-mail address, Social Security number, and employer of both parents.

  (2) The name and address of children who are the subject of the order.

  (3) An annualized amount of child support.

  (4) Frequency of the child support payment.

  (5) Total arrearages, if any, and the periodic amount ordered for payment of arrearages.

  (6) Any other information that may affect the obligation to pay child support.

  (b) Child care costs shall be specifically stated in the order for the purpose of providing information on the amount of child care costs used to compute the total support obligation.

  (c) Every order for child support made or modified under this chapter on or after July 1, 1990 shall:

  (1) include an order for immediate wage withholding or, if not subject to immediate wage withholding, include a statement that wage withholding will take effect under the expedited procedure set forth in section 782 of this title;

  (2) require payments to be made to the Registry in the Office of Child Support unless subject to an exception under 33 V.S.A. § 4103;

  (3) require that every party to the order must notify the Registry in writing of their current mailing address, current e-mail address, and current residence address and of any change in any address within seven business days of the change, until all obligations to pay support or support arrearages or to provide for visitation are satisfied;

  (4) include in bold letters notification of remedies available under section 798 of this title; and

  (5) include in bold letters notification that the parent may seek a modification of his or her support obligation if there has been a showing of a real, substantial and unanticipated change of circumstances.

  (d) The parent under a medical support order shall notify his or her employer of such obligation in writing within 10 days of the date of the order. If the parent is not employed or is self-employed, the parent shall notify his or her insurer of such obligation in writing within 10 days of the date of the order. If a parent under a medical support order fails to give notice as provided in this subsection, he or she shall be liable for all health care expenses of the child subsequent to the date of the order until the order is modified by the court with respect to medical support.

  (e) A child support order shall include the following language: “A PARENT OR ANY OTHER PERSON TO WHOM SUPPORT HAS BEEN GRANTED, OR ANY PERSON CHARGED WITH SUPPORT, MAY FILE A MOTION FOR A MODIFICATION OF A CHILD SUPPORT ORDER UNDER 15 V.S.A. § 660. A MODIFICATION MAY BE GRANTED UPON A REAL, SUBSTANTIAL, AND UNANTICIPATED CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT OR A CONSIDERABLE REDUCTION OR INCREASE IN SALARY OR WAGES. AN OBLIGOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY REQUIRED PAYMENTS SET FORTH IN AN ORDER UNLESS THE ORDER IS VACATED OR MODIFIED BY A COURT. THUS, ANY SUBSEQUENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES THAT DIFFERS FROM THE ORDER IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING, AND THE OBLIGOR IS STILL LEGALLY REQUIRED TO PAY THE AMOUNT ORDERED BY THE COURT.” (Added 1985, No. 180 (Adj. Sess.), § 11, eff. April 1, 1987; amended 1989, No. 220 (Adj. Sess.), § 25; 1993, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1995, No. 59, § 9; 2003, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2017, No. 11, § 39; 2019, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § E.319, eff. October 2, 2020; 2019, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. October 7, 2020.)