Complaints for spousal and child support are initiated by filing a complaint with the Carbon County Domestic Relations Office. Their office is located on the second floor of 76 Susquehanna St., Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229. Their telephone number is 570-325-2681.
After a complaint is filed and served upon the other party, the Domestic Relations office will schedule an establishment conference to determine if support is warranted, and if so, how much. The amount is determined by the Pennsylvania State Guidelines. An Order will then be entered. If there is an agreement, the Order will immediately become final. If there is no agreement, the parties are given 20 days to file a timely appeal. Should an appeal be filed, the case will then move to a de novo hearing in front of a Hearing Officer, whom is an attorney specially trained to hear such cases. Should either party disagree to the Hearing Officers findings and report, the parties will be given another 20 days to file a timely appeal. Once an appeal is filed against the hearing officer’s report, the case will then move to be heard during an Exceptions hearing by a Judge.
It is important to know that should there be a temporary Order in place, that temporary Order stands until there is a new Order entered. Parties are expected to follow their court Order, even if there is pending litigation. Should parties not follow their court Order, Domestic Relations Officers will begin to take enforcement action such as, but not limited to, driver’s license suspension, recreational license suspension, freezing/seizing of bank accounts and other assets, credit bureau reporting, state/federal tax intercepts, and contempt of court proceedings.
The Domestic Relations Office has no jurisdiction over child custody or visitation disputes. If you have a custody or visitation issue involving minor children, please consult the topic CHILD CUSTODY.