How does the judge figure out child support?
The judge almost always calculates child support according to a mathematical formula set forth in the West Virginia code. For very good reasons proven in court, the judge can use a different figure than the “formula” indicates. This is very unusual. Most of the time the “formula” determines who pays support, and how much. The judge calculates the mother’s and father’s financial information. This includes each parent’s income, child care expenses, medical expenses, and the number of nights a year spent with each parent. Normally, the amount of child support depends on whether the children spend more than 35 percent of the year (127 nights) with one parent. The judge puts all these amounts of money into a formula. Then, going by state law, a number comes up using the formula. That number states how much one parent must pay in child support to the other parent. Sometimes one parent may be working only part-time, or may not be working at all. The judge is permitted to assume that person is
