How is Child Support Calculated?

Ensuring that children are cared for emotionally, physically, and financially are some of the most important issues in family law. 

A piece of legislation called the Child Support Guidelines were created in order to make determining the amount of child support payable as simple as possible.  The Guidelines include table that shows exactly how much child support a parent should pay each month based on the number of children and the payor’s income.  How much time each parent spends with the children is also an important factor.

Child Support Can Also Include Special And Extraordinary Expenses

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In addition to this monthly amount, parents also contribute towards their children’s special and extraordinary expenses.  These expenses include tuition, daycare, and medical expenses.  Parents usually contribute towards these expenses in accordance with their respective incomes.  This means that if the parents’ incomes are similar, then they will often each pay approximately half of these expenses, but if one parent earns far more than the other, then that parent will pay a higher percentage of them.  Determining this percentage can be challenging because you must also determine which expenses should be shared and how the payment of support affects this percentage.