A Child Support Payment Calculator | Child Support Payments
Many people who have found themselves in custody battles wonder if there is such thing as a child support payment calculator.
In fact there is not but there are broad parameters and guidelines set down by Federal law by which the courts are guided when making child support payment orders.
The broad paremeters for the calculation of child support are laid down by the Child Support Enforcement act and courts generally operate within these guidelines. Courts will always be calculating child support from a perspective of the child but with a healthy realization that the difference between maintaining one home and two homes will be considerable.
Broadly the court will look at the ability of the non custodial spouse to pay and the needs of the child combined with the standard of living that the child would have been accustomed to.
The court will approach the child support calculation by firstly looking at the gross income and net income of the non custodial parent.However the non custodial parent needs to realize that courts will gnerally not allow any deductions from gross income over and above the minimum needed to live. The reason for not allowing deductions such as credit card or car loans, entertainment expenses and other discretionary spending is that the court considers this type of spending to rank behind the non custodial parent’s obligation to their child.
Some states will allow you to deduct the cost of child support for children of another relationship but some states will not.However when you are completing your financial declaration, called a statement of means, for the court be sure to include these payments so that they can be considered and you might get a good break from the judge.
Be aware also that a court will look at your ability to earn, not just what you are earning now, before making it’s order as to your child support obligation.The reason for this is simply to ensure that you realise that your obligation to your child support payments is paramount and any lifestyle choice to quit a good paying job and go back to college for example will not necessarily enusure that you will end up paying less.The court may well decide that this too is a lifestyle choice and assess you and make the court order on the basis of what you are capable of earning rather than what you are actually earning.
In summary there is no one child support calculator that you can use but you will have to provide the court with a statement of means from which the judge will ultimately make the child support payment order.
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Filed under Child Support Calculator by Terry
