If your former spouse has stopped paying child support or maintenance (the Montana term for alimony), the short version is this: document it, use the enforcement tools the law provides, and keep following every part of the decree yourself. For child support, the state's Child Support Services Division can do much of the collection work. For maintenance and property payments, the route generally runs through the district court. This article explains both. It is part of our Montana Divorce Guide.
First, Build the Record
Every remedy starts with proof of what was ordered and what was paid. Pull together:
- a copy of the decree and any later order changing support;
- a payment history. If payments go through the state, CSSD keeps one. If they are paid directly, use bank statements;
- a simple list of each payment due, the amount received, and the date; and
- any messages in which the other person explains or acknowledges the missed payments.
In a contempt case, certified payment records kept by a clerk of court or an agency authorized to collect support are admissible and are prima facie evidence of what was paid and what is owed (MCA § 40-5-601(6)). Direct payments in cash, with no record, are much harder to prove either way.
Child Support: Start With CSSD
The Child Support Services Division is part of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. It may accept applications for enforcement services from people who are not receiving public assistance (MCA § 40-5-203(1)). The department lists its services as locating parents, establishing paternity, establishing financial and medical support orders, enforcing support orders, and modifying them. It takes enrollment online and by phone at 1-800-346-5437.
According to the department, most child support in Montana is collected by income withholding from a parent's wages. When that is not available, the enforcement tools it describes include:
- offset of federal and state tax refunds;
- reporting the past-due amount to credit reporting agencies;
- a passport hold;
- suspension of driver's, occupational, and recreational licenses, such as hunting or fishing licenses;
- interception of Montana Lottery winnings of $600 or more;
- freezing and seizing assets such as bank accounts; and
- liens on real and titled personal property in Montana.
You do not need a lawyer to use CSSD. The agency sets its own priorities and timeline, and it is not your personal lawyer. Our article on child support enforcement in Montana covers the agency process, and unpaid child support and interest covers what accumulates.
Court Remedies for Support and Maintenance
| Remedy | Applies to | How it works | MCA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income withholding | Child support | Support orders are enforced by immediate or delinquency income withholding unless the order contains a written exception. The recipient, the child, or the department can start it after a delinquency. | §§ 40-4-204, 40-5-303 |
| CSSD enforcement services | Child support, including medical support | Tax refund offsets, credit bureau reporting, passport holds, license suspension, liens, and seizure of accounts. | § 40-5-203; DPHHS |
| Contempt for failure to pay support | Child support, spousal support, ordered medical and day-care payments | The payee petitions the district court. Nonpayment of a known order creates a presumption of contempt. | § 40-5-601 |
| Security for future payments | Child support or maintenance | After a delinquency equal to 6 months of payments, the court may order a bond, mortgage, or other security. | § 40-4-209 |
| Judgment lien | Money judgments, including support | A docketed judgment is a lien on the debtor's nonexempt real property in the county. | § 25-9-301 |
| Enforcing the decree's other terms | Property payments and transfers | Terms set out in the decree are enforceable by all judgment remedies, including contempt. | § 40-4-201(5) |
Montana has a contemptstatute aimed at support specifically. "Support" there means child support, spousal support, health insurance and medical payments, day-care expenses, and other payments due as support under an order (MCA § 40-5-601(1)). The payee files a verified petition, and the court orders the other person to appear and show cause.
The person who owes support is presumed to be in contempt once it is shown that there is a support order, that they knew of it, and that they failed to pay as ordered (MCA § 40-5-601(5)). They can then ask to be excused by showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that they have insufficient income, lack property that could be sold or pledged, cannot borrow the sum, or cannot reasonably comply for some other reason, and that they did not cause the problem themselves, for example by voluntarily remaining unemployed or underemployed (MCA § 40-5-601(7), (8)).
Civil contempt is meant to produce compliance, not punishment. When the sanction seeks to compel an act within the person's power, the person may be incarcerated, fined up to $500, or both, until the act is performed (MCA § 3-1-520). See contempt in family court.
For maintenance, CSSD's published services are about child support. If you are owed maintenance only, expect to use the court remedies in the table, and ask the agency directly whether it can help in your situation. The court may also order a party to pay the other's reasonable costs and professional fees in a proceeding after judgment, after considering both parties' financial resources (MCA § 40-4-110).
Do Not Withhold Parenting Time
It is tempting to answer a missed payment by cancelling a weekend. Do not. The parenting plan and the support order are separate, and "if a parent fails to comply with a provision of the parenting plan, the other parent's obligations under the parenting plan are not affected" (MCA § 40-4-234(6)).
Withholding contact puts you in violation of a court order and gives the other parent a claim of their own. A parent who willfully and consistently refuses or frustrates contact is presumed not to be acting in the child's best interest when a plan is reviewed (MCA § 40-4-219(1)(a)(iv), (3)). The failure to pay has its own consequence in the same analysis: whether a parent has knowingly failed to financially support a child they are able to support is a best interest factor (MCA § 40-4-212(1)(k)). Let the court apply both rules. The exception is safety. If a child is in danger, call 911, and see our Montana Domestic Violence Guide.
If You Are the One Who Cannot Pay
Job loss, illness, and injury happen. The law's answer is a motion, not silence. A decree may be modified as to maintenance or support "only as to installments accruing subsequent to actual notice to the parties of the motion for modification" (MCA § 40-4-208(1)). In other words, a court generally cannot go back and reduce what came due before you filed and gave notice.
An informal understanding with your former spouse is risky for the same reason, although a valid out-of-court agreement waiving, deferring, or compromising support is one of the excuses the contempt statute recognizes (MCA § 40-5-601(7)(e)). Get any agreement in writing and ask the court to approve it. See modifying child support and modifying or ending maintenance.
How Long You Have
Unpaid support does not expire quickly. An action to collect past-due child support that accrued after October 1, 1993 may be started within 10 years of the termination of the support obligation or 10 years from entry of a lump-sum judgment or order for arrears, whichever is later (MCA § 27-2-201(3)). The general period for an action on a judgment is 10 years (MCA § 27-2-201(1)). Waiting still has costs: records get lost and assets move. For enforcing property terms, such as an unpaid equalization payment, see enforcing a divorce decree.
This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.