Legal Ease by
Shane Givens
Jan. 25, 2011
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Adjusting child support, Part I I received this question last week via e-mail: “I believe I am paying too much for child support. How can I check and when can I try to have my payment changed?” The first step in establishing or modifying child support is, of course, to calculate it accurately. Child support calculations are regulated by Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration. For general purposes, child support calculations depend on a fairly simple mathematical calculation, which the court will rarely stray from. Child support is primarily based on both parents' individual “gross income.” Gross income is sometimes called “before tax income” or the amount you see on your check before any other deductions are taken out. Legally, gross income is income from any source: not only your wages, but also any commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance pay, pensions, workers' compensation benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, disability insurance benefits, gifts, etc. Gross income does not, however, include child support received for other children or benefits received from public assistance programs such as food stamps. The only amount usually deducted from a parent's gross income is any support paid to other children. After the parents' gross incomes are calculated the totals are added together to make up the parents' “combined gross income.” There is a chart that accompanies Rule 32 which shows what the parents basic child support obligation will be based on their combined gross income and how many children are involved. The number on this chart makes up the “basic child support amount.” Expenses for work-related child care costs and health insurance costs are then added to the basic child support amount, resulting in a “combined total child support obligation.” The basic child support obligation is then divided between the parents based on his or her “percentage share of their total gross income.” For example, if mom's gross income is $2,000 per month and dad's is 3,000 per month, then mom's percentage share of the total income is 40 percent and dad's share is 60 percent. After the total child support obligation is multiplied by each parents' percentage share of the total income, this gives you each parent's individual child support obligation. To get your child support calculated correctly, it really is best to see a lawyer, who will have access to the forms and tables necessary to make these calculations or there is a useful child support calculator online at http://www.guidelinesoftware.com/Ala1A.asp. Be sure to check out Part II of this article next week, where I will discuss what doesn't go into a child support calculation, when child support amounts can be adjusted, and when it is possible to deviate from the recommended amount. This column is intended for general information purposes only. The answers to most legal problems rely on specific facts of a particular situation; therefore, it is very important to see a lawyer when these situations arise. Please e-mail questions for future columns to givenslaw@tds.net. |