Does the court always follow support guidelines?
The guidelines are designed to treat similarly situated parents and children in similar ways. When there are special needs and special circumstances, those should be considered, and changes should be made to the basic child support as needed. The conference officer must provide written findings of fact and an explanation of the reasons for making a change from the guidelines. These are some of the factors the conference officer should consider: (1) orders the parent may have to support other families; (2) household income coming from sources other than the parents; (3)the ages of the children; and (4) medical costs not covered by insurance.
