We all know how important it is to keep our home purchase & sale records, insurance policies, tax returns and other financial records for future reference. However, the big difference with child support and spousal support payment records is that having them can make the difference between proving payment as well as proving non-payment. With proof of payment you avoid money judgments and arrears, while with a calendar or diary of non-payment you can establish how much is owed and for which periods of time.
When a parent/spouse is accused of non-payment of a court-ordered or contractual support obligation the burden of proof immediately shifts to the person with the payment obligation once the obligation is established together with allegations of non-payment.
When payments have been made by a wage garnishment it is fairly easy to prove payments as long as the employer is still in existence (but the best proof will still be paystubs showing deductions). If payments have been made by checks or bank transfers you have excellent documentary evidence of payment... if you have the statements, checks or proof of transfers. Remember some institutions only keep statements online for a limited period of time. If a bank is taken over or merges those records may "disappear" so it is best to print the checks and statements every month and keep them in a digital or old-fashioned paper folder.
Some clients will use money orders but that is not nearly as good as a check because the money order receipt is not proof of who was the recipient, whereas a check has an endorsement. Obtaining copies of money orders using the document number is likely a difficult and time-consuming task especially if the records are several years old.
I never recommend cash payments even if the recipient provides a "receipt" because those little pieces of paper can get lost, misplaced in a move or thrown out by mistake and there is no back-up evidence available.
It is also important if you are the paying party to itemize what the payments are for especially if there are "add-ons" such as medical and pharmacy co-payments, child care and extra-curricular expenses. When a payment does not clearly identify what is being paid it will be hard to re-construct after several years have passed whether a $350 check was child support or enrollment and uniform expenses for soccer.
If you are the person entitled to receive support payments keep a written diary of when the payments were due, what they were for, how much was received and the date. Good written records are very convincing when in front of the court. It is very easy for a paying person to play number games with support obligations and short pay by making 24 payments instead of 26 payments and not properly adjusting the monthly obligation. I have seen many people send payments a week or two late and claim they made all of their payments when in reality they are always behind an additional week every month because they backdate the check so it looks like they pay regularly. I have seen people who increase/decrease payments making it a nightmare to show what is truly paid or owed in the absence of good records.
If you are summoned to court for non-payment or you are filing to enforce the support obligations, having good records and a system that you use for every payment will enhance your credibility which can also make the difference in the outcome if some records are missing but the vast majority have been accurately maintained.