Rule 302.Income attachment; operation of law adjustment; change of payee
Ch. XV: Support Proceedings · Last amended 2018 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 9, 2026
Full Text of Rule 302
Amendment History
Delaware prints each rule’s amendment history as a single “Credits” line naming every order that adopted or amended it. It is reproduced verbatim below.
[Adopted February 12, 2007, effective 30 days after notice to Bar. Amended effective January 9, 2017; December 1, 2018.]
Plain-English Summary
The rule that keeps thousands of support accounts current without a hearing for each — and the safeguards that make that acceptable.
Payable through the agency. Child support is payable to the Division of Child Support Services unless the court orders another arrangement for good cause. DCSS may issue income attachments for any obligation payable to it unless the court stays them, and attachment is not available for an obligation that is not payable through the agency. Spousal support or alimony may be ordered payable through DCSS, but only alongside a child support obligation.
Adjustment by operation of law. Where DCSS has cause to believe an obligation has terminated or been modified by operation of law, or needs other administrative action, it may adjust its accounts and terminate or modify an income attachment without a further court order. The rule then lists what that covers.
Where a past due balance arises and nothing is received for at least one calendar month, an arrears payment may be imposed, or an existing one raised, to 20% of current support rounded to the nearest dollar, until the balance is paid. When arrears are cleared and current support continues, the payment drops back to current support alone. When a current obligation ends because of a termination of parental rights or the emancipation or death of the last remaining child, the total previously ordered presumptively continues until arrears are paid off. When current support has ended and everything is paid, enforcement ceases.
Where custody of all the children moves to the paying parent, current support terminates; if arrears remain, any previously ordered arrears payment stays, or if there is none, 20% of the terminated current payment becomes the periodic payment. On the death of the paying parent, current support ends and arrears become a liability of the estate; on the death of the person to whom support was due, arrears become a judgment in favour of their estate. The rule may also be used to move administration between States, redirect payments, close accounts and forgive balances.
The child is the real party in interest. That sentence, in the middle of an administrative rule, is the principle everything else rests on. So when a child's placement changes and the new caregiver or agency has requested collection services or been assigned rights of support, DCSS may redirect payments to follow the child — supported by a court order, a written agreement signed by the paying parent, or a successful application for benefits on the child's behalf. Obligations for several children in several homes may be subdivided per capita.
Notice, and the right to contest. Within 120 days before, or 30 days after, adjusting its accounts, DCSS files a Notice of Administrative Adjustment with the court and mails it to every party at their last known address. The notice says that a Motion to Contest may be filed within 30 days of the mailing date, and a blank motion form goes out with it. Absent a contest, the notice's contents are presumptive in later proceedings.
Sending the objection form with the notice is a small thing that decides whether a right is real. DCSS may file an amended notice within the 30-day window, and recipients then get 30 more days; otherwise corrections go through Rule 60(b) or a fresh petition.
By motion. Any party other than DCSS — or DCSS, where it wants relief the rule does not authorise administratively — may seek recognition of a termination, modification or change of payee by motion. Nothing in the rule limits the court's power to grant appropriate relief, and actions under it use Family Court approved forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I pay child support to in Delaware?
Child support is payable to the Division of Child Support Services unless the court orders an alternative payment arrangement for good cause shown. Income attachment is not available unless the obligation is payable through DCSS.
Can my support order change without going to court?
DCSS may adjust its accounts and terminate or modify an income attachment without a further court order where an obligation has terminated or been modified by operation of law, in the situations the rule lists.
How much is added for arrears?
Where a past due balance arises and no payments are received for at least one calendar month, an arrears payment may be imposed or increased to an amount equal to 20% of current support, rounded to the nearest dollar, until the balance is paid in full.
How do I challenge an administrative adjustment?
By filing a Motion to Contest an Administrative Adjustment within 30 days of the mailing date of the Notice of Administrative Adjustment. A blank motion form is sent with each notice.
What happens to arrears when someone dies?
On the death of the obligated parent, current support terminates and any past due balance becomes a liability of the estate. On the death of the person to whom support was due, current support terminates and past due support becomes a judgment in favour of that person's estate.