Background and Child

Please be sure to click on the triangles, to open up this section.

Background Information

This section is where you specify whether a party is plaintiff or defendant, petitioner or respondent.

You also specify birth dates, state of residence, and tax filing status.

Here is how these items are used:

• The party’s birth date is used in calculating the pension value, and in estimating the party’s retirement date for cash flow projections.
• The date married is used in the defined-benefit pension calculation, to calculate the marital portion (that is, the coverture fraction).
• The state where the party lives is used to estimate state tax in that state. It can be different than the state of filing of the action.
• The tax filing status in the current year is used in the child support guideline calculation, in states where taxes are a part of the calculation.
• The tax filing status in future years is used for cash flow projections.

If the parties are filing jointly, we need to allocate tax to each party, for budget purposes, and sometimes also for child support purposes. We allocate the joint tax proportional to gross income. The number that is shown here is the portion of total gross income earned by the parties shown. It determines the allocation of joint tax between the parties, if the parties are married filing jointly. You may override this number.

Please click “more info” on this screen to enter address, occupation, and other information.

If the client is living in New York, Connecticut, or New Jersey, and working in one of the other two states in this tri-state area, click “more info” to specify information about state taxes.

Children

There are two groups of entries for children:

• Children of the current relationship; and
• Children of other relationships.

You add a child by clicking the button to open the relevant section, and then click the Add button to add a child.

Click the button again to add additional children.

Here are fields to enter:

• Custody. The specification of custody relates only to guideline calculation purposes. This is not legal custody. There will be an opportunity to enter more information about the children on the child support data entry screen.
  
• Tax exemption. The Tax Exemption selection is relevant even during years when the exemption amount is zero. This is because the tax exemption is used in determining who can claim the Child Tax Credit.
  
• Eligible age. This is checked by default if the child is under the age of majority (adulthood) for the state. You can clear it if the child emancipated early. You can check it if the child is older than majority but disabled, so still eligible for child support. Other notes:
  
  • This checkbox determines whether the child counts for child support.
    
  • Many states give a credit in the child support calculation for support for a child of another relationship. Clearing this box automatically enters this child for consideration for that credit.