How is child support calculated?
Child support is calculated based upon the non-custodial parent’s net resources. Net resources include all wage and salary and other compensation plus all other income received, less social security taxes, federal income tax based on the tax rate for a single person claiming one personal exemption and the standard deduction, state income tax, union dues, and expenses for health insurance coverage for the child. Once the net resource is determined, the court bases the amount to be paid from net resources depending upon the number of children involved. For example, if the obligor has one child, the child support is 20% of the obligor’s net resources; for two children, 25%; for three children, 30%; for four children, 35%; for five children, 40%; and for 6 or more children, not less than 40%. The above percentages may be reduced if the obligor provides support for a child in more than one household.
Child support is calculated by a worksheet thereby divesting all parties, including the court, of any discretion pursuant to C.R.S. section 14-10-115. Child support is calculated by considering both parties gross monthly income, the number of overnights that the child spends with each parent with consideration of allowances for child care costs, health insurance premiums and extraordinary expenses. Child support is a right of the child, not the parent. Therefore, you cannot negotiate away a duty to pay or a right to receive child support. Child support is a separate issue from parenting time. In other words, just because a parent does not see his/her child does not mean that he/she is not responsible for paying child support. Similarly, a parent can not deny parenting time simply because the other parent is not currently in their child support obligation. Child support is always modifiable by the court. Either party must show that there is a significant and continuing change in circums
In New Jersey , child support is based on Child Support Guidelines which can be complicated and difficult to understand. The New Jersey Supreme Court has developed a set formula which takes into account the income of both parties and the amount of time each party spends with the child (ren). The necessary information is put into the formula and the amount of support is calculated.
The federal Family Support Act of 1988 requires every state to promulgate numerical child support guidelines. The guidelines implement a federal requirement demanding not only that guidelines be established, but that such guidelines form the presumed standard when fixing the amount of child support. This presumption in favor of a numeric computation of the support obligation is rebuttable only by a showing that the guideline figure would be “unjust or inappropriate,” based on criteria established by the state. The guidelines are designed to overcome three of the persistent problems in the award of child support: insufficient levels of support, inconsistency of criteria used by judges to fashion awards, and inefficiency in the adjudication of child support. The formula attempts to balance the child’s needs and the parents’ ability to provide for those needs. In most states, the basic child support obligation is calculated by combining the incomes of the parents and multiplying that figu
In most cases, child support is calculated using a formula in the Texas Family Code. The payor’s monthly “net resources” (a term defined by statute) is multiplied by a percentage which is determined by the number of children at issue (e.g., the percentage for one child would be 20%). The payor is entitled to a reduction if he or she is also responsible for the support of another child.
