The court may order child support through several different types of court cases, including divorce (dissolution of marriage), paternity and child support.

When child support is ordered, the judge may direct the non-custodial parent (the parent that does not have the child living with them full-time) to make payments to the custodial parent directly or the judge may order that all child support payments are made to the State Disbursement Unit (SDU), which then disburses the money to the custodial parent. When child support payments through the SDU are ordered, the Clerk becomes the keeper of these payment records.