After the non-custodial parent's net
income is determined, the amount is rounded up to the nearest dollar and then
multiplied by the guideline percentage designated for the total number of
children subject to the court order. The percentages are 21% for one child; 32%
for two children; 41% for three children; 46% for four children; and 50% for
five children or more.
If an initial support order is being
set, it must include an award of monthly support dated back to the child's
birth, the date of separation, or the date of abandonment, whichever is
appropriate. The support amount must be calculated by applying the guidelines to
the non-custodial parent's average income over the last 2 years prior to the
entry of the support order, unless the amount of income is rebutted by either
party.
The child support guidelines
contemplate a situation where the children live primarily with one parent and
visit the other parent every other weekend, for two weeks in the summer and for
two weeks for holidays during the year. If the parties actually share physical
custody on a more equal basis, the court must make an add hoc determination as
to the appropriate amount of support.
The guidelines are minimum award for
child support obligations. The guidelines list several factors that must result
in an increase in the guideline amounts:
1. Expenses for health care insurance
coverage for the child, if the parent paying support is not already providing
this.
2. Less than average overnight
visitation being exercised by the non-custodial parent;
3. Extraordinary education expenses,
and
4. Extraordinary medical expenses not
covered by insurance.
The guidelines list several non-exclusive
examples of situations which may justify a downward deviation from the
guidelines:
1. Physical custody of the children is more
equally divided between the parties;
2. In the case of extreme economic hardship,
such as extraordinary medical expenses not covered by insurance or other
extraordinary special needs of the children of the obligor's current family,
deviation may be considered to achieve equity between the parties.
a. Deviation from the child support guidelines
is calculated as follows:
1. Downward deviation due to excess visitation
-- determine the annual amount of support that would be awarded under the child
support guidelines if there were no deviation. The monthly rate is multiplied by
12 to obtain the annual support amount and divided by 365 to obtain the daily
support amount under the guidelines. To calculate a decrease in support, the
daily figure is multiplied by the number of visitation dates in excess of 80
(the presumptive visitation days in the guidelines) to get the yearly decrease
in support warranted by excess visitation. The figure is then divided by 12 to
obtain the monthly decrease in support warranted by excess visitation. The
monthly figure is then subtracted from the original amount of support that would
have been ordered under the child support guidelines if there was no deviation
for the excess visitation to arrive at the modified monthly support award.
2. Upward deviation due to lack of visitation --
to calculate an increase in child support that would be awarded under the child
support guidelines if there was no deviation for lack of visitation, the monthly
rate is multiplied by 12 to obtain the annual support amount and then divided by
365 to obtain the daily support amount under the guidelines. The daily support
figure is multiplied by the number of visitation days less than 80 to obtain the
yearly decrease in support warranted by the lack of visitation. That figure is
then divided by 12 to determine the monthly increase in support warranted by the
lack of visitation. That figure is added to the original amount of support that
would be awarded under the child support guidelines if there was no deviation
for lack of visitation in order to obtain the modified monthly support award.
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