Frequently Asked Questions

Yes.

1. intercept State and Federal taxes;
2. have liens placed on vehicles;
3. attach Indiana unemployment income and Indiana lottery winnings;
4. seek seizure of passports;
5. refer delinquent payors to the Credit Bureau if they owe more than $1,000;
6. seek suspension of driver's licenses or professional licenses;
7. seize money from delinquent payors bank accounts.

While attorneys may seek some of these remedies it is easier for our office to obtain results because we can do these things administratively (without going to court) and we automatically receive this type of information from the State.

Yes. We will first attempt to enforce your case by administrative remedies. If possible, the absent paret will be cited into our local court so we can handle the case here. If this is not successful, a UIFSA petition will be filed to the state where he/she lives but we are then dependent on the child support authorities in that state to enforce your Order.

Yes, visitation is an entirely different issue than child support. A non-custodial parent can file a contempt citation against you for refusal to permit visitation. If you have good reason for not wanting visitation to occur, you can talk to a private attorney about filing a motion to modify the visitation order.

Our offices jointly started this site in early 2002. If the deadbeat is someone our office has been seeking support from, our approval is required for that person to be added to the site.

You can call the Kids' Line at 1 (800) 840-8757.

If you would like to check on the status of your case, you may contact your caseworker by mail, fax or complete an Inquiry Form, which is available in a printable version on this website or you can complete one at our office. If your case is scheduled for court and you must appear, you will be notified by mail. Our address and fax number are listed on all of our web pages.

If you have an arrearage the IV-D office is required to use all administrative means to collect the arrearage.

The website is a tool we use to find deadbeats, so to be placed on the website the deadbeat must have an outstanding warrant or we are trying to locate the person so he/she can be served with court papers.

The employer must be contacted by the person/agency that issued the wage assignment and told to terminate the withholding order.

All civil support / paternity cases are heard in the three Magistrate courts. Paternities and follow-up hearings on those cases must be heard in Juvenile court. Divorce and support cases must be filed in the other two courts. The IV-D attorneys each handle the cases in specific courts. Caseworkers are assigned cases from a specific portion of the alphabet, based on the first letter of the last name of the absent parent.

An absent parent can be submitted for a tax intercept if she or he owes more than specific amounts of past due child support. For Federal tax refund intercepts, the minimum past due amount must be $500 or more. For State of Indiana tax refund intercepts, the minimum past due amount must be $150 or more. Cases being handled by our office are automatically submitted for tax intercepts through the State child support computer system, so custodial parents do not need to fill out or sign any forms to have absent parents submitted.

If you are a IV-D participant contact our office and make this request. If your case meets the requirements, she will refer your case to the Deputy Prosecutor for approval.

It is often difficult for us to know how long it will take to receive the intercepted refund money. Due to the actual intercepting of the refund being processed by other agencies, there is no real way for us to know this. Generally, intercepts of State of Indiana tax refunds are processed more quickly than intercepts of Federal tax refunds. Also, if an absent parent has filed a joint tax return, the intercepted refund is automatically held for a period of six months in order to give the spouse the opportunity to file an injured spouse claim for their portion of the refund. After this period, at least another 6 to 8 weeks should be allowed for the refund amount to be dispersed.

This depends on the law of the State your child support order was issued in. Indiana law provides for support until your child turns 21 or is otherwise emancipated. To have the child emancipated prior to the age of 21 the non-custodial parent must file a petition to emancipate with the Court and prove that certain conditions, set out by law, are met. Support may also be continued past the age of 21 if the child is a full-time student and if the custodial parent files a petition for continuing support and/or educational expenses prior to the child's 21st birthday.

As of August 2003, the IV-D office was responsible for approximately 5,500 cases. An average of 25 new cases have been filed with our office per week since that time. The IV-D Office represents approximately two-thirds of all individuals seeking child support on Porter County cases and private attorneys represent the remaining one-third.

Our office does not handle the actual support payments. It is required by law on all IV-D cases that all payments be made to the County Clerk's office. Payments must be made by money order or certified check and made payable to the Porter County Clerk. They should be mailed to the following address:

Porter County Clerk's Office
Child Support
16 East Lincolnway
Valparaiso, Indiana 46383

Be sure to include your name and your cause number(s) to insure proper credit.

THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES THAT ANY AMOUNTS WILL BE COLLECTED THROUGH TAX INTERCEPTS! There are several reasons why a custodial parent does not receive amounts from the intercept of the absent parent's Federal or State tax refund:

1. The absent parent may not be eligible for a refund.
2. The absent parent may owe another debt for which the refund amount has been intercepted.
3. There may be money owed to the State of Indiana for past public assistance received by the custodial parent(s) on one or more child support cases.
4. The absent parent may not be required to file a Federal or State income tax return.
5. The absent parent may have elected to receive his or her refund throughout the year.

You can email us or fax the information to (219) 465-3689. If the person is listed on the Sheriff's Deadbeat Parent website, you can contact the Porter County Sheriff's office at (219) 465-3515.

The ISETS computer system is one that was started by the State Child Support Bureau. It is used by all Indiana Clerk's Offices to document support money that is paid or disbursed. It is not a local computer system and we cannot change how it works. Our office uses it to gather information for processing cases.

Send us a written request to review your case because you believe an error has been made. Tell us why you believe there is an error. You must also send a copy of the notice you received with your request. Your case will be reviewed and we will notify you of the results.

Send us a written request to review your case because you believe an error has been made. Tell us why you believe there is an error. You must also send a copy of the notice you received with your request. Your case will be reviewed and we will notify you of the results.

Send us a written request to review your case because you believe an error has been made. Tell us why you believe there is an error. You must also send a copy of the notice you received with your request. Your case will be reviewed and we will notify you of the results.

Send us a written request to review your case because you believe an error has been made. Tell us why you believe there is an error. You must also send a copy of the notice you received with your request. Your case will be reviewed and we will notify you of the results.

No. This office is responsible for communicating with you and the other jurisdiction. If you are corresponding or receiving correspondence from the other state, we will be unaware of this and thus unable to represent your child's best interests. If you need information about your case, contact your Porter County caseworker. If you receive correspondence directly from the other jurisdiction, do not sign anything until you have provided a copy to your Porter County caseworker for review.

The IV-D office cannot file the papers for you because our program participant must be the custodial parent/guardian. You can hire an attorney to represent you or you can file the paperwork yourself using pro-se paperwork. Pro-se forms can be obtained free from the Court Administrator on the fourth floor of the courthouse or copied at the Valparaiso Library Reference Desk.

You can contact Valparaiso University Law Clinic at (219) 465-7903 or Northwest Indiana Legal Aid at (219) 886-3161 or (219) 932-2787.

There is no specific time frame within which the IV-D office will be successful in collecting child support for you. It depends on the circumstances of the non-custodial parent, the information you provide and the existing caseload within our office. If you know of an employer and there is an existing child support order, collecting the support will be a much quicker process. If you have very little information to provide, we may not be able to locate the non-custodial parent or enforce your order. We need as much information as possible, including address, social security number and identifiers, such as height, weight, hair color, eye color, date of birth and a picture (if possible). We also need to know if the non-custodial parent has other children and whether or not there is a child support order for those children.

No. Our office represents the interests of the children and not the individual parent or guardian. Therefore, there is no attorney/client relationship and any information you provide may be released to the courts, other attorneys, state agencies, etc.

Maybe. We try to settle cases by agreement but that is not always possible. If a hearing is held you normally must appear.

No. For confidentiality reasons we deal only with the case participants.

Yes. Since we represent the children's interests this does not present a conflict of interest because our focus still remains with the child.

No. All cases are worked equally, using the same collection methods, caseworkers and attorneys.

The Deputy Prosecutor does not represent clients of our office on a personal basis. He represents the interests of the State of Indiana rather than any individual client of the Child Support Division.

No. The State Child Support Bureau is our funding source and the state agency that sets down the guidelines for all Indiana county IV-D offices. The State Child Support Bureau offices are located in Indianapolis.

Individuals currently receiving assistance use our program free of charge. Others must pay a one-time fee of $25.00.

f the custodial parent is under the age of 18, they will need a relative or friend over the age of 18 who will act as a guardian for the case. The relative or guardian will need to cosign all papers, as well as appear in court with the custodial parent.

No, however paternity must be established to start the child support collection process.

Just because the absent parent resides in another state does not mean your case is a UIFSA case. An interstate petition must be filed and a case opened in the other state before it becomes a UIFSA case. You will receive notification from our office if an interstate petition is filed.

Although it is difficult to track down and enforce against such an irresponsible parent, it is not impossible. We use all means to get that person into Court on a contempt citation. The Courts can punish a non-custodial parent in various ways, including incarceration. Our aim, however, is to collect support for your child rather than seek punishment.

Generally, our office does not take any action for missed payments until 30 days have elapsed. There could be a good reason for missing payments, such as losing a job or being sick and not able to work for a short period of time. If the other parent has lost a job and is eligible for unemployment benefits, it often takes a few weeks for those benefits to begin.

If you are not receiving AFDC/TANF or Medicaid benefits (for yourself), you can request a Closure Statement, which you must sign and return to our office. We will withdraw from your case as attorney of record and close your case with our office. At that time all IV-D services will stop. If you need future assistance to enforce your child support order, you will have to use a private attorney or reapply for IV-D services. If you are receiving AFDC/TANF or Medicaid benefits (for yourself), you cannot withdraw from the IV-D program. Cooperating with the IV-D office is a requirement of receiving those benefits.

Our office handles support issues for custodial parents, including seeking an order for medical insurance. We cannot deal with custody or visitation issues.

You cannot have a private attorney and the IV-D office both handling the matter of child support for you at the same time. For matters of visitation or custody, you would need the services of a private attorney, however you MUST provide our office with copies of any and all orders that might affect your child support order.

Our locate department has several ways to find the absent parent; however, it is very important that you obtain as much information as possible about the non-custodial parent or alleged father. It can sometimes take 60 or more days just to very an address.

The simplest way the Prosecutor's Office can collect your child support is through income withholding. If the non-custodial parent is 30 days or more behind in paying their child support, we can send an order to their place of employment asking that a certain amount of money be deducted from their paycheck.

The non-custodial parent may be called into court if they have not responded to requests to voluntarily pay their child support and income withholding is not an option (i.e. they have no permanent place of employment). A court date may be set. if you have a pending court date, we will take no further action on your case until after the court hearing.

A non-custodial parent who accumulates a support arrearage of at least $2,000.00 or an amount equal to three months of the current support order may be subject to the loss of any driver or professional license he or she may hold. Proceedings to suspend a license may be initiated upon the filing of a court petition or by an administrative notice to the non-custodial parent.

A tax intercept is a tool used to collect past due child support from absent parents. If an absent parent owes certain amounts of child support, and is owed a refund of State and/or Federal tax she or he has paid, we can intercept this refund and apply it to the child support arrearage.

If a non-custodial parent owes more than $1,000.00 in past due child support, the Porter County Prosecutor's Office will submit that parent's name to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to palce a lien on any vehicle that he or she might purchase. This means that the non-custodial parent cannot sell the vehicle without the IV-D office first releasing the lien. This usually requires a lump sum payment on the arrearage. In extraordinary cases, vehicles may be seized and sold at auction to pay the back support. Other real property (i.e. house, boat, trailer and estates) may also be seized and sold at auction to satisfy your support obligation.

If a non-custodial parent owes more than $1,000.00 in past due child support, the Porter County Prosecutor's Office will submit that parent's name to the Credit Bureau.

During June 2002 approximately 86.5% of the money our office collected was for non-welfare recipients.

Nation wide the percent is around five percent. Our county has a slightly higher number than that.

A warrant may be issued after the NCP or AF fails to appear for a court hearing for which he or she has been PERSONALLY served with the court order to appear. A warrant may also be issued if there is a warrant provision in your child support order.

All child support is paid through the Porter County Clerk's Office. If you have never been on welfare, the Clerk's Office will send the payments directly to you. If you are currently receiving welfare (AFDS) or have received it in the past, the payments will be sent to the Division of Family and Children and they will disburse the money accordingly.

Each caseworker is responsible for approximately 900 cases, as well as other office duties. If we took telephone inquiries no casework would get done. Also, by putting your request in writing there will be no misunderstanding about what you are asking. Lastly, when we receive a telephone call we cannot be sure who is calling and we do not give information out to unknown individuals. We have installed an information system on our telephone line to provide basic information to the public in an effort to more efficiently work on our caseload. This frees the receptionist to handle other office duties and allows your caseworker to work uninterrupted on her cases.

The Hoosier Healthwise program is part of the Medicaid program. The Division of Family and Children generates a referral to our office for any recipient of the Medicaid or AFDC/TANF programs when there is an indication that the person is in need of the services provided by our office. A custodial parent is required to cooperate with our office if he/she is receiving Medicaid benefits for him/herself or receiving AFDC/TANF as a condition of eligibility for these programs.

Support is set based on state child support guidelines. We are obligated to follow those guidelines unless a good reason exists to deviate, and that is rare.

Our office is required to seek reimbursement of state money that has been paid out for TANF benefits or birthing costs.

Cases in our office are filed alphabetically by the absent parent's name. The names of both parties are needed to locate the correct file or case. Some clients have multiple cases with different parties, so this information is necessary to access the correct case. Separate inquiries should be made if you have more than one case with our office.

Our office has only five caseworkers, and a large backlog of casework. Inquiries are answered by the appropriate caseworker in the order they are received. Each caseworker is responsible for over 900 cases whereas the national average is approximately 450 cases per caseworker. Please understand, due to the large volume of cases your caseworker is responsible for, responses will normally take 45 to 60 days. If you have not received a response within 60 days, please write your caseworker again. Be sure to state this is your second request and include your name, the non-custodial parent's name and your case number, if you know it.

There are a lot of reasons. It often takes a long time to find an absent parent. That parent then has to be served with papers. Also the courts are very crowded and it may take several months to get a court date.

Only the Clerk's Office can answer that question. The IV-D Office does not take payments or send money out. We only work to enforce the Order. The Clerk acts as chief financial officer to the Courts by collecting, disbursing and reconciling monies related to Court cases.

Our office is only open to the public between the hours of 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. but the staff works from 8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. This allows more uninterrupted time for enforcement work.

Enhanced Access is a subscription service offered by Porter County Government to view court information. Please click here to learn more about this service.

Please DO NOT send tax bills to the return address on the envelope as it creates extra handling and could cause your bill to be late and incur penalties for being late up to and including Sheriffs Sale.

Follow these simple steps:

1. Visit http://www.porterco.org.

2. Select Online Services found in the horizontal menu located immediately below the top picture.

3. Select Tax Information from the menu located on the left.

4. Under Search choose the desired method to find your tax information.

5. Enter the desired search method information. (Accuracy is important to a successful search.)

6. Follow the provided tips to help your search.

You may call your mortgage company or your escrow agent to confirm payment.
You may also call the County Treasurer's Office, or you may look online at http://www.porterco.org/pati and follow the directions to see if your taxes have been paid.  You will need to look at each parcel individually. (Information: Historically mortgage companies or like agencies do not wire their accounts to the Treasurer's Office until the last day to pay.  The Treasurer's Office will post the accounts as soon as possible as on time payments).

Click here to visit the State Statute on the 10% penalty.

When you mail your tax bill to the Porter County Treasurer provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope and the Treasurer's Office will send you a receipt.

Once settlement takes place, letters notifying taxpayers of an available surplus refund are sent out from the County Treasurer's Office to all those who have surplus funds. This letter contains the amount of surplus and information about collection of the surplus from the County Auditor's Office.

The original title must be brought into the Treasurer's Office.  All taxes, current and past due, must be paid prior to obtaining the permit.  Payments need to be made by cash or money order for an immediate Mobile Home Permit.  If payment is made by check a two-week wait is required.

We have addressed that problem by creating a Cash Payment Line, a Check Payment Line and 2 lines for questions and tax problems.  We hope this method will move a greater number of people.  Suggestion! The best way to stay out of lines is mail in your payment. If you want a receipt include a self-addressed, stamped enveloped so a receipt can be sent to you.

You can mail your payment(s) as indicated to the address on the reverse side of the coupon. (DO NOT send payments to the return address on the envelope.)

1. You may also deposit your payment(s), and avoid waiting in line, by placing your payment(s) in the drop box at the County Building, and your tax payment will be processed on that day. A receipt of your payment(s) will be mailed to you if you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

2. You may stand in the appropriate line to pay your tax bill and receive a receipt.

3. You can currently pay your tax bill by credit card.  The credit card service provider, NOT the county, will apply a 2.75% convenience charge to your payment.

Categories include Homestead Credit and Mortgage, Blind or Disabled, Over 65, Energy System, and Disabled Veteran.  Exemptions are applied for in the Porter County Auditor's Office.

1. The Post Mark is what the Lock Box uses to determine if your bill is on time or late.  If your payment is post marked later than the due date indicated on the coupon you are LATE.  Suggestion! Send your payment early and use your On Line Banking or call your bank to see if the check has been canceled. You may also check on the Porter County website at http://www.porterco.org/pati and follow the instructions to view your tax bill(s).

2. If you pay over the counter you have until end of business day on the date indicated on the payment coupon. (Penalties can only be waived at the Auditors Office.)

You may obtain property tax history at the Porter County Treasurer's Office at 155 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana during normal business hours.  Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding holidays.

You may come to the County Administration Building at 155 Indiana Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana, main floor, and take the hall immediately to your left after you enter the main doors, and wait in line.  Working hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday except for holidays.

Mail tax payments to: Porter County Treasurer, P.O. Box 11357, South Bend, IN 46634.

Using a Lock Box provides much more efficiency by allowing payments to be processed in a timely manner. Your payment is transferred out of your account and into the county's account by 12:00 a.m. each business day after it is received and your canceled check is processed much sooner than in the past. (In the past checks may not have been processed and canceled for 4-6 weeks after you paid the tax bill.)

1st Source Bank a Valparaiso, Porter County bank, is processing our Lock Box.  1st Source is a local bank with their processing center located in South Bend.

Yes. The term for reimbursement in a criminal case is restitution.

Yes. In adult court ALL hearings are open to the public. Please take note that cell phones and all electronic devices are not allowed in the court house.

No. You can request the State to drop the charges for whatever reason. However, only the State can dismiss criminal charges. In criminal cases the victim is only a witness. The goal is to hold the defendant accountable to the State. As the victim you may have rights to participate in the criminal justice process, but the victim does not have the right to direct the prosecution of the case or drop the charges.

No. The process of criminal charges being filed is: Law enforcement investigates criminal complaints. If the Officer thinks there is enough evidence to prove a case, the Officer will forward the police report to the prosecutor's office and if they feel there is enough evidence to prove the case "beyond a reasonable doubt", charges will be filed. It will be the prosecutor's decision if charges are filed and it will be the State of Indiana's Criminal Case, not your case.

You are allowed to make a Victim Impact Statement at Sentencing only. This statement can be verbal or in writing. The Defendant and/or his or her attorney will be allowed to hear or read your statements.

No. Victims are not required to have their own representation. If there is a trial, the victim's interest in prosecuting a criminal is represented by the Porter County Prosecutor's Office. When an appeal has been filed, the victim's interest is then represented by the Attorney General's Office to defend the conviction and sentence.

No. The hearings are for the Defendant (person charged with the crime), the Attorneys and the Judge. If you are subpoenaed, (this usually only occurs if a trial is held) you must appear.

You can call the Victim Assistance Office and they can check for you or you can call the Civil Bureau at the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

If he is held in jail, you can give the jail your telephone number and address for victim notification upon his/her release. If he is sent to prison you can call the Indiana Department of Correction Victim/Witness Assistance Program at (317) 232-1756 or 1 (800) 447-5604. They can also let you know defendant's prison location. The Victim Assistance Office can provide you with an "offender status notification request" form.

You can write a letter to express how you feel and what you would like to see happen in the case. Include in your letter the defendant's name, your signature and date it. There are a few ways you can submit it such as through email, fax, or mail it to your victim advocate. Your advocate will place your letter in the prosecutor's file for their review.

The forms and instructions on how to fill out the Protective Order can be picked up at the Clerk's office at the Valparaiso Courthouse or the North County Complex in Portage. In order to file a case you must have the correct name, correct address, correct date of birth or the social security number of the person you want the protective order against. When you have filled out the paperwork, a Judge will review the Petition. Depending on the situation, the court can issue an ex parte Protective Order or issue a Temporary Protective Order and set the matter for further hearing. All Protective Orders issued ex parte or after a hearing are effective for two years, unless the court specifies a different time.

That depends on the complexity of the case and many other variables. It can take anywhere from six months to one year or longer, especially if the defendant pleads NOT GUILTY to the charges.

If the defendant is ordered by the Judge to pay Restitution to you (it is not always ordered) he/she will pay the Clerk's Office and in turn they will make a check out to you. The check will be mailed to you by the County. The Defendant has until the end of probation to pay unless the Court orders otherwise.

The probation can be revoked and he/she will have to come back in front of the Judge to explain why they did not follow the Judge's Order.

If the Defendant and/or his attorney objects to the amount of restitution filed by Victim Assistance on the behalf of the victim, the Judge can order a restitution hearing. The prosecutor may request that the victim attend the hearing and present to the Judge the reasons for the amount filed. If the Judge believes the restitution ordered is reasonable and fair the original order will stand. If the Judge believes it is excessive or does not pertain to the criminal case the amount could be amended.

Indiana's courts may now issue three different kinds of orders: Protective Order, No Contact Order, and Workplace Violence Restraining Order. Restraining Orders in the context of a divorce do not exist under the new statutes. Courts may still issue such orders with regard to assets, usually to prohibit parties from trying to destroy or encumber marital property.

A person who is or has been a victim of domestic or family violence may file a petition for an ORDER OF PROTECTION against a family or household member who commits an act of domestic or family violence; or against a person who has committed stalking or a sex offense against the petitioner. There is NO FILING FEE REQUIRED. The new Protective Order statute no longer covers disputes among neighbors or similar types of cases. Relief is possible in those situations through the Porter County PACT Community Mediation Program or other civil or criminal proceedings.

NO CONTACT ORDERS -- In a criminal case, a court may issue a No Contact Order as a condition of bond or pretrial release, or at sentencing, as a condition of probation.

This Fund assists victims or their dependents with medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages, psychological counseling, and expenses resulting from the collection of evidence after an alleged sexual assault. First, the crime must have taken place in Indiana and been reported to the police within 48 hours of the crime. Victims or survivors must have cooperated in the investigation and prosecution of the crime, have out-of-pocket expenses of at least $100.00, and application for benefits must be filed no later than 180 days after the crime occurred with the Violent Crime Compensation Office. The Victim Assistance office has the necessary applications. Also, we can assist victims in completing and filing the application. The telephone number for the Violent Crime Compensation Office is (317) 232-7103 or 1 (800) 353-1484.

Losses normally covered by restitution are out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance, including but not limited to: actual costs of repair or replacement of damaged property, the value of unrecovered stolen items, medical expenses, and lost wages. If insurance has covered the losses, the amount of any deductible or co-pay may be requested to be ordered as restitution.

The constitution gives every defendant the right to one appeal. State and federal statutes give defendants additional rights to post-conviction hearings.

Each case is handled on an individual basis. There is no way to judge the outcome until all facts are known, such as the defendant's background, etc.

No. Usually, a defendant will stay in jail/prison, but they can get bail pending appeal on very rare occasions.