Child Support

en Español

Both parents have the legal obligation to support a child, both during and after a divorce.

Courts will order a non-custodial parent to pay a specific amount to the custodial parent to cover a proportionate amount of the child's expenses, such as:

• Housing and utilities
• Food
• Clothing
• Medical costs not covered by insurance
• Activities such as soccer and music lessons
• Child care costs
• Special expenses of a disabled or chronically ill child
• Education expenses such as tutoring and college

Calculating Child Support

State laws vary greatly as to how courts calculate child support. It's best to consult with a local lawyer to understand your state's calculation process.

Some states calculate child support as a percentage of the non-custodial parent's income, without considering other factors.

Most states use formulas that factor in:

• The incomes of both parents
• Assets of both parents (property, investments and so forth)
• Medical expenses of the child
• Current and projected child care expenses
• Cost of current activities of the child
• The amount of time the child spends with the non-custodial parent
• How many children there are in each household
• The age of the child or children

In calculating child support, a court may consider as "income":

• Your salary or business income
• Any bonuses you receive regularly
• Overtime pay, if you regularly work overtime
• Income from rental property and other investments
• Income from seasonal or part-time second jobs
• Your current spouse's income if the child has lived with you and your spouse and your spouse has financially supported your child

Making Child Support Payments

In most states, child support must be paid monthly on a specific day of the month. You may be able to set this schedule according to when you are paid.

Most states have child support "registries" you can pay into each month. The money is then forwarded on to the custodial parent.

Paying into a child support registry is a very good idea, because then you have a government record of what you have paid, if there is ever a dispute as to how much you owe.

If you pay the money directly to your child's other parent, make sure to pay by check or money order, so that you can prove you've paid. Never pay in cash, no matter how insistent the custodial parent is.

It's a good idea to keep track of money you spend on your child above child support payments. This might include:

• Birthday and holiday gifts
• Extra clothing purchased for school
• School supplies
• Books and toys
• Sporting equipment
• Increase in rent and utilities dues to having extra space in your home for your child

This information will come in handy if you have to revisit the child support issue in the future.

Modifying Child Support Orders

In some states, child support is recalculated on a regular schedule, for example every two years. In these states, the courts require parents to exchange tax return information to see if an increase in child support in warranted.

In all states, either parent may bring a motion (sometimes called "petition") to ask the court to recalculate child support at any time.

If you're the paying parent, you may want to ask the court to recalculate child support when:

• Your income has dropped dramatically or you become unemployed
• The other parent's income has increased
• Living expenses have changed in either household

If you're the parent receiving child support, you may want to ask the court for a recalculation when:

• The paying parent's income has gone up or you discover the paying parent didn't disclose all income previously
• It has been years since the last recalculation and your child's expenses have gone up

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