Calculation of Child Support
The calculation of child support is the process by which a court determines how much money one parent is required to pay to another parent in order to support their children. The amount of money the parent must pay depends on a variety of factors, including each parent’s income and the number of children they are responsible for.
Depending on your state, you may use the formulas listed below to calculate the basic child support obligation:
Calculate each parent’s adjusted income
Adjusted income is the income the parent receives after subtracting out mandatory deductions like Social Security and taxes. It can also include things like loan payments and their basis.
To figure each parent’s adjusted income, you will need to have their most recent tax returns and pay stubs available. You should also have information about their employment, self-employment, disability/retirement benefits, workers’ compensation, or other sources of income.
Determining how much the parent will need to pay is a difficult task. It can involve a lot of time and effort.
A common method of determining how much the parent will need to pay is to apply the “income shares” model. This model bases child support on each parent’s combined income and a percentage of that income based on the number of children they have.
If you’re not sure how to calculate your own support, you can visit a free online child support calculator. Most states have their own online child support calculators and you can use these to estimate your own child support amount, though it is not a guarantee that the support will be ordered by a judge.
You can also use this tool to get an idea of how much your child support will be if you file for divorce and your case goes to trial. The amount of your support will depend on many factors, such as your individual income, expenses and the number of children you’re responsible for.
The court can order higher or lower support if it finds there are special circumstances in your case that would not allow you to pay the guideline amount of support. Examples of these factors include a parent’s extraordinarily low income or high expenses that make it impossible for him or her to meet the basic child support obligation.
Once you have the Combined Child Support Obligation, you can find out how much you will need to pay to your co-parent if he or she is required to pay it by applying the basic child support obligation table. This table can be found on the website of your state’s child support agency or by asking your Dade County family attorneys for a copy.