In the unfortunate situation where a family unit can no longer remain together then the time for calculating who will be paying child support and what amount will be paid has come. Nobody likes to include financial technicalities in the breakup of a family but the reality is that a child will need financial support not just for food but for clothing, schooling and a wide number of other expenses also.
Unfortunately it\’s usually only the parent who\’s been raising the child who understands how much it can cost to care for any child, so the amount required might come as a shock to some people. If you\’ve found yourself in a situation where the issue of child support has been raised then it\’s a good idea to get your head around how this type of payment is actually calculated in the first place. Typically a child support payment is calculated based on the total income of the household and the percentage of time spent with the child by each parent, set out in their visitation schedule.
Now before we go any further we need to state that how child support is calculated varies from state to state using one of three models, which we\’ve listed here:
Income Shares
In this child support calculation model it\’s treated as if both parents still lived together and how much of both parent\’s income would have been used to raise the child or children involved. The formula used in this model varies from state to state but generally speaking the biggest financial obligation will fall on the parent no longer living in the family home i.e. the parent who spends less time with the child.
Percentage of Income
This model is based on a percentage of the salary of the parent who is no longer residing in the family home and assumes that the parent who is providing the majority of care for the child (in terms of hours) has spent their entire income in doing so. Again with this model the onus will tend to fall on the noncustodial parent to pay the larger amount of child support here.
Melson Formula
This is the most complex of the 3 formulae used to calculate child support and takes into account a number of factors, including any increase in a parent\’s income – catered for by something called the Standard of Living Adjustment (SOLA). Overall the same basic rules apply in the Melson way of calculating child support as they do in the \”Income Shares\” model, but is a more complicated way to calculate the payment.
The information we\’re providing here is a very rough guide and should not be deemed as legal advice of any kind. That being said the core principles of child support calculation are all based on the above formulae so you\’ll need to see which one applies to your own individual circumstances.
One final note on child support payments is that the person receiving it is not taxed on it, but whoever is paying it can\’t claim it as tax deductable. Also bear in mind that any existing investments you have (including stocks and share) can be included in the overall child support payment calculation process.