Child Support

Child Support refers to a sum of money paid from the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. Which party is the custodial parent or non-custodial parent for child support purposes is determined by the custodial arrangement between the parties.

The amount of support is determined by a computational formula that is derived from the Child Support Standards Act. Application of that formula results in the "presumptively correct" amount of support to be paid unless the court uses its discretion, based upon certain factors, to adjust that amount.

In addition to basic child support, parents are also required to contribute to additional expenses such as health insurance, unreimbursed medical expenses, and childcare expenses. Parents may also be required to contribute education expenses between the parties.

The Basics of the Child Support Standards Act

Income

Income for child support purposes is generally the income that was or should have been reported on the parent's Federal and State Income Tax return, plus income from other sources. To be clear, a Court will consider and review your current income even if it differs from your preceding year-end income.

Formula

Once the parents' respective incomes are determined, the Court will apply the applicable child support percentage to their incomes to determine the combined parental child support. For example, one child is 17% of their combined income, two children is 25%, three children is 29%, four children is 31%, and five or more children is 35%. The parent deemed to be the non-custodial parent will then pay his pro rata or proportionate share of that combined parental child support obligation to the other parent.

Add-ons

After determinig the amount of child support to be paid, the Court will then allocate the parties' contribution to the mandatory add-ons, which are the health insurance premium attributable to the children, childcare due to employment responsibilities, and unreimbursed medical expenses. Each parent's proportionate share of the combined parental income will determine the percentage of his/her contribution to those additional expenses

Variance Factors

The Court can and will deviate from the Child Support Standards Act if it finds that the amount of child support to be paid is "unjust or inappropriate." In such an event, the Court will rely on certain variance factors to determine whether the child support should be more or less.

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Know Your Rights

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