Child support payments are established based on that state’s child support schedule – a table which includes multiple factors paired with values, including, but not limited to:
- Both parents’ incomes
- Cost of child care
- Cost of health insurance premiums
- Tax deductions
- Number of children living with both parents
- Amount of time child spends with both parents
The income of both parents is taken into account, and the noncustodial parent’s payment is reduced proportionally if the child spends more than a quarter of the year overnight in that parent’s home. Child support can also be adjusted upward or downward to account for hardships, financial responsibilities for other children, or economically significant special needs of the child. In paternity cases, an unmarried father will not receive credit for overnight visits without a visitation or joint physical custody order in place.
Child support is money paid to one parent by the other for the benefit of the child. This money helps to ensure the child will share in the lifestyle and of both parents. The amount of child support one parent will pay to the other is determined in many states by calculating something called guideline child support. Coming up with this figure requires the use of computer software.
In cases involving children with special needs of any kind, it is generally necessary for the parent receiving child support to present evidence demonstrating that the given impairment or talent has economic consequences that should be reflected in the child support award. It is not enough to allege and prove a condition of special need—financial implications must also be proved.
Skilled family law attorneys can help identify and properly calculate both parents’ incomes and fight for fair child support awards on behalf of his client. Child support issues may include payment of health and dental insurance, day care expenses, orthodontia, and private school tuition, among others.
