Legal Ease by
Shane Givens
Feb. 1, 2011
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Adjusting child support, Part II To briefly review Part One from last week, child support calculations are usually comprised of the parents' joint income minus any pre-existing child support or alimony payments, with an adjustment for health insurance costs and work-related day care expenses. What many people do not realize, however, is that other factors rarely come into play. For example, if child support is established on the mother's income and she remarries, the new husband's income does not work to change child support. Further, if the parties have additional children in the future, existing child support will rarely be affected. Child support rules note some situations for deviating from the amount suggested by the guidelines. Reasons for deviating from the guidelines may include the following: 1) Shared physical custody or visitation rights providing for periods of custody substantially in excess of those customarily ordered by the court; 2) Extraordinary costs of transportation for purposes of visitation borne substantially by one parent; 3) Expenses of college education incurred prior to a child's reaching the age of majority, or 19 years old; 4) Assets of, or unearned income received by or on behalf of, a child or children; and 5) Other facts or circumstances that the court finds contribute to the best interest of the child or children for whom support is being determined. Again, the existence of one or more of these reasons does not require the court to deviate from the guidelines, but the judge may consider the reason or reasons before making a ruling. Because judges will rarely deviate from the amount calculated under the guidelines, parents should seek the advice of an attorney if they feel any of these reasons for deviation apply. Child support rules also provide a means to modify child support. Under Rule 32, a parent seeking modification of child support must prove that a “material change in circumstances” has occurred. This usually means there is at least a ten percent difference between the existing child-support amount and the new amount. Even if there is a ten percent change, however, the judge is not required to modify child support. In fact, the judge has full discretion to deny a modification even when a ten percent variation is present. For example, a judge will rarely decrease child support if he finds a parent is “voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.” A parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed when he or she unjustifiably quits a job, or accepts a job that pays less than before. Under these circumstances, a judge will usually estimate the income the parent would have if he were not voluntarily unemployed or underemployed and use that amount in the child support calculation. 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. |