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Q: How is the amount of child support determined? A: In all states, there are formulas for child support, called "guidelines." Each state's guideline is different. In every state, the child support amount increases as the payer's income and the number of children increase. In many states, but not all, the support amount decreases as the recipient's income goes up. Many states also make special provisions for special expenses critical to children, such as health care, child care, education, and even mortgage payments. Also, some states make exceptions in the case of low-income spouses or high-income spouses. For low-income spouses, the laws tend to try to assure that the low-income spouse has enough money to get by -- but that the child support payment is not zero. For high-income spouses, the guidelines tend to specify that after a certain amount, the judge should decide child support on a case-by-case basis. Q: Why isn't child support set in all cases on a case-by-case basis? A: That's the way it used to be done. But federal law now essentially requires each state to have guideline formulas in place. The reasoning is that guideline formulas encourage:
Q: So it's just by formula? A: Judges have the authority to deviate from the formula, and in a small percentage of cases, special circumstances convince them to do so. Q: Can we agree on a child support amount that is different than the formula? A: You can, and many people do. A judge has to approve your agreement. If you agree on an amount that is higher than the formula result, the judge will typically approve the agreement. If you agree on a lower amount, the judge will look closely at the agreement, to make sure that the children will be OK. Q: Is the formula entirely cut and dried? A: There is lots of wiggle room -- more than is usually understood. That is because the formulas use numbers like "income" and "expense" that leave room for discussion about whether certain items count as income or expense, or whether all the income and expense items are remembered and counted. Q: How is child support enforced? A: If the payer receives wages or a salary, there are usually systems in place that cause the child support to be deducted directly from the wages. These systems are not in place everywhere, and they are not always effective, but they are improving year by year. Q: Can child support amounts be modified later on? A: Yes. Typically, a court will modify the child support amount if, on recalculation, there would be a "substantial change" in the amount awarded. States often define a "substantial change" as 10% of the current support or more. Things that will change the child support substantially often include a new job (or a significant raise). Child support is often also modified when each child turns age 18. Q: Until what age does child support run? A: Typically, child support runs until the child turns age 18. In some cases, and especially in some states, child support will continue through college, if the child is going to college. Q: Can the Family Law Software Planner help? A: In some states, yes. Family Law Software has developed child support guideline calculators for a number of states, and is planning others. With a Family Law Software Child Support Guideline calculator, you can understand all the inputs and exceptions in your state, to be sure that you get every advantage available under your state's rules (whether you are payer or recipient). You can also see in child support guideline calculators how much difference it makes in the guideline to include another income or expense item. This tells you how worthwhile it is to fight for that item to be included. And if your income or expenses change, or your spouse's do, you can see immediately whether it's worthwhile going back to court for a modification of child support. You can save -- or earn -- lots of money by knowing your state's child support guideline rules. The Child Support Guideline calculators from Family Law Software for your state puts this information right at your fingertips. Back to main Finance Page | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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