Child Support: What You Need To Know

What is Child Support?

Child support mandates arepassed downfrom the state family courtand the amount of payment is determined by a variety of social, economic, and professional factors. A child support payment is monies paid by the non-custodial parent to the parent acting as the primary care custodian – or the custodial parent.

Determining Child Support Payments

There are three primary criteria in the determination of child support payments; these payments are normally determined by the state of family court handling the case. Child support calculators exist that provide informational estimations of child support payments, as well.

1. Income: The amount of income earned by both parents – custodial and non-custodial – is factored in to the determination of child support. Both parents maintain the right to life and earnings that allow for their respective needs to be met. Portioned income is allotted for the child support payment, which iscalculated by the court in charge of settling the matter.

2. Custodial Responsibility: The custodial responsibility – both parental, as well as financial – is factored into the determination of a child support payment. In the event that the parental role that one parent has well-outweighs the other parent’s role, the magnitude of responsibility is taken into consideration upon factoring child support.

3. The Number of Children: The higher the number of children involved in a child support settlement, the higher the prospective child support payments – more children is proportional to more responsibility, including both financial and parental. Both parents are required to provide an equal amount of child support– in a varied capacity - for their shared children.

Tax and Child Support

Child support payments cannot:

Be taxed by the state on the part of the parent making child support payments

Be considered as tax deductions of the part of the parent receiving child support payments

Child Support and Living Arrangements

Child support payments are also reliant on ‘established paternity’, which is the legal terminology signifying parental role with respect to the life of the child. Both in the case of step parents and birth parents, the established paternity is assumed to be shared by the birth parents.

In the event that the child lives with one parent, the other parent is required to pay child support payments. In the event that the child shares residence with both parents, arrangements can be made reflecting payment proportional to the amount of time in which the residence is shared by specific parent and child.

Child Support Legality

The parameters and protocols surrounding both the settlement and determination of child support payments vary on an individual basis and in conjunction with the established paternity and additional parental role of each parent with regard to their shared child or children; all child support payment documentation should be completed to the fullest extent - in a meticulous fashion.

In the event that an individual experiences difficulty completing – or understanding – the requirements of child support, they are encouraged to consult an attorney specializing in family law, child law, child support payments, and custodial law.

NEXT: Alabama Child Support