Child support is court ordered payment requiring the parent without custody of the child to pay the parent who does have custody of the child. Child support may also be required when parents share custody of a child. Child support helps pay for costs associated with raising a child. The money will typically be used for things such as food, shelter, clothing, daycare, schooling, medical care and other expenses that the custodial parent will incur in the course of raising the child.In order to determine the amount of child support due, you must look to the guidelines set out by the state legislature or established by the state courts. Federal laws dictate that states must set up guidelines for determining child support. These guidelines are formulas that take into account factors such as the income of each parent, the number of children, the needs of the children etc. Further, these formulas are based on studies that help determine how much money families spend to raise their children. A child is expected to be able to maintain his or her standard of living or at least a similar standard of living. Thus if one parent is very wealthy, that parent will be required to pay a larger amount of child support. If on the other hand, the parent is living on government assistance and does not have much income, that parent will be required to pay less child support. The court may also look at the time the child spends with each parent. If for instance, the child spends an equal amount of time with each parent, child support might be reduced or even eliminated since presumably each parent pays for the support of the child while the child is living with him or her. The court will also look to the obligations attached to each parent. If for instance, one parent also has children from a previous marriage that he or she must also pay child support to, this will decrease the parent’s actual income, and the court will take this into consideration.
While the calculation of child support payments can differ from start to state, child support is generally based on the paying parent’s total income after taxes and other deductions have been removed. Put simply, child support is based on the paying parent’s net income. There are also a few states that still use gross income to calculate child support.
Child support can be court ordered from any legal parent who has not officially relinquished his/her parental rights. A parent cannot shirk their responsibility to pay child support. A parent who does not have custody of a child must still pay child support even if they have no desire to maintain a relationship with their child. The rationale behind this principle is that a child’s right to financial support from a parent is more important than what the parent wants out of the relationship. Child support and visitation are two separate issues. Most states hold that the two obligations are distinct and not tied together. Even if a parent who does not have custody is denied access to their child, he or she must still continue to pay child support. Child support payments are supposed to be used for a child’s food, shelter, clothing, and education. Child support orders may designate that money paid for support is used for specific items for the child. This can include a tuition payment or medical expenses. Further, not paying child support can lead to serious consequences. The paying parent can lose his/her driver’s license, have their wages or tax returns garnished and might even be sentenced to jail.
Much of child support litigation involves one parent suing another for the child support. In some cases, if an alleged father denies paternity, courts may order a paternity test. If it is established that the person being sued is indeed the parent, the court will then order support be paid by that parent.
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