Learn about child support guidelines, such as who must pay it, how the amount is calculated, and when a support order may be amended.
All parents are legally expected to provide for their children’s fundamental requirements, such as food, clothes, housing, and health care. When parents are divorced, separated, or never married, child support is meant to ensure that they both contribute their fair share of financial support for their children.
That underlying premise may seem straightforward, but estimating the amount child assistance parents should pay may be difficult. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions concerning child support.
What exactly is child support?
How is Child Support Calculated?
Can Parents Negotiate Child Support on Their Own?
Is it possible to change an existing child support order?
Do Child Support Obligations Change Due to Custody Arrangements?
Is it possible to base child support on earning capacity rather than actual income?
Will Judges Take Parental Living Expenses into Account When Determining Child Support?
What Is a Child Support Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Clause?
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What Exactly Is Child Support?
When neither parent resides with a child, the youngster normally lives mainly with one of the parents (known as the “custodial parent”), unless the parents have shared physical custody. Kid support is the amount of money paid by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent to assist meet the basic necessities of the child. Child support is usually included in a court order, even if the ruling is based on a mutual agreement between the parents (more on that below).
How Is Child Support Calculated? What Are Child Support Guidelines?
All states are required by federal law (45 CFR 302.56) to adopt rules for determining child support. Each state, however, creates its own rules. So, if you’re wondering how much child support you’ll have to pay, the answer is that it depends on your state’s laws as well as your specific circumstances.
Because both parents are required to support their children, the standards provide a range of child support obligations for each parent. In most circumstances, judges have the discretion to issue child support that deviates from the standards if it is justified. The grounds for deviating from the rules are generally specified in a state’s divorce legislation (more on that below).
Regardless matter how much leeway the law gives courts, most states’ standards define elements that judges must examine when determining who pays how much child support. These criteria often include things like:
the child’s requirements (including health insurance, education, day care, and any special needs), the custodial parent’s income and needs, the paying parent’s capacity to pay, and the child’s standard of life prior to divorce or separation.
Before deciding on child support, courts often need each parent to submit a form that offers a detailed picture of that parent’s financial condition, including data on their monthly income and spending.
A court will normally consider the family’s quality of living prior to the parents’ divorce or separation when determining a level of child support. The judge will next attempt to order assistance to maintain this quality of life as much as practicable. At the same time, judges understand how difficult it is to sustain two families on the same salary that previously supported one. Maintaining the children’s former level of life is therefore more of a goal than a certainty.
Can Parents Negotiate Child Support on Their Own?
They are capable. However, the regulations in your state would almost probably need a court to approve the agreed-upon amount of child support. Judges are obligated to prioritize a child’s best interests, and they will go to any length to ensure that youngsters are not cheated.
That is why, unless in rare circumstances when there is a legitimate justification, such as when a noncustodial parent is absolutely unable to work due to a physical condition, courts will seldom accept an arrangement that provides for $0 child support.
If you want to reach an agreement with the other parent but are having difficulty resolving your disagreements, you might attempt mediation.
Is it possible to change an existing child support order?
You and your kid’s other parent may agree to change an existing child support order, but the proposed change cannot be implemented unless it is approved by a court.
If you and your ex cannot agree on a modification, you must make a formal request (in the form of a motion) in the same court that issued the original decree. Your request will then be decided by a court.
In general, courts will not consider altering previous orders unless the asking parent can show a substantial change in circumstances since the original order was made. This regulation prevents courts from being overloaded by frequent and recurrent amendment petitions.
The following are some examples of modifications that typically support modification orders:
a medical emergency involving a kid
temporary incapacity of the paying parent to pay (for instance, because of illness or an additional financial burden such as a medical emergency or job loss)
temporary economic or medical difficulty of the recipient parent
The receiving of fresh, more money by either parent as a result of remarriage, a change in either parent’s job status, either parent’s handicap, or a change in the child’s requirements.
Do Child Support Obligations Change Due to Custody Arrangements?
Physical custody of children and parenting time (visitation) may have a substantial impact on child support payments depending on where you reside.
Kid support rules in many jurisdictions take into consideration the amount of overnight stays a child spends with a parent under the current custody and/or parenting time agreement. This is because parents frequently incur additional costs when their children visit them on a regular basis. For example, they could need an additional bedroom and have to spend more for food and other necessities. As a result, while establishing the amount of child support, courts may take overnight stays into account.
However, keep in mind that each state will have its own regulations about how many overnights would be included in child support calculations.
Is it possible to base child support on earning capacity rather than actual income?
Unfortunately, some parents intentionally minimize their income to lessen their duty to pay child support. A court may “impute” income to you if he or she feels you are intentionally jobless or underemployed. Simply said, child support will be determined based on what you should be making rather than your actual income.
However, there may be real reasons why some parents are not reaching their full potential. They may, for example, have a condition that precludes or restricts work, or they may have been laid off and have been unable to find a new job despite a thorough search. Furthermore, depending on the state, some courts may refuse to impute income if a parent is pursuing higher education.
When considering a parent’s probable employment and earnings, courts often consider the parent’s degree of education, recent work history, and occupational credentials, as well as the community’s current job options and pay levels.
Will Judges Take Parental Living Expenses into Account When Determining Child Support?
When evaluating a parent’s income for child support purposes, courts often consider the parent’s total income. They then deduct obligatory deductions such as income taxes, Social Security taxes, health care, and mandatory union dues.
Other costs may or may not be considered by judges, depending on their purpose. Remember that the primary goal of a child support order is to safeguard the interests of the children. So, for example, expecting a court to reduce a child support requirement because a parent has a gambling debt is unreasonable.
To put this into context, examine some of the issues judges may consider when deciding whether to stray from the rules. These elements may include:
a parent’s very high or low income tuition for children (such as private or parochial school) education expenses for either parent to improve earning capacity special needs of gifted or disabled children substantiated financial obligations for elder care or for a disabled family member, and a parent’s support obligation for other children (based on prior support orders).
What Is a Child Support Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Clause?
A COLA provision in a child support agreement indicates that payments will automatically rise on a set timetable at a rate equivalent to the cost of living (as determined by an economic indicator such as the Consumer Price Index). This removes the need for any adjustment requests based merely on changes in the cost of living. COLA provisions are required in several states for child support orders.