What is Child Support?

Child support is a payment by one parent to the other parent for the support of their common child. It is in the best interest of a child for both parents to be obligated to pay for the support of their child. An order for child support transfers the income/wealth from one parent to the other so that the combined incomes/wealth of both parents is available to use for the support of the child.

What is Child Support used for?

Child support covers everything a child needs, and even more, during the growth and formative years. Keep the following in mind:

A parent’s first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor children according to the parent’s circumstances and station in life; and

Children should share in the standard of living of both parents. Thus, the amount of a child support award is more than a question of bare necessities.

If the child has a wealthy parent, that child is entitled to, and therefore needs something more than the bare necessities of life. Where the supporting parent enjoys a lifestyle that far exceeds the custodial parent’s living standard, child support must, to some degree, reflect that more opulent lifestyle. This is so even though, as a practical matter, the child support payments will incidentally benefit others in the custodial household whom the payor parent has no obligation to support (e.g., custodial parent owed no spousal support, adult children, or children from custodial parent’s other relationships).

Children should share in the standard of living of both parents. Child support may therefore appropriately improve the standard of living of the custodial household to improve the lives of the children. Children are entitled to share in non-custodial parent’s elevated standard of living despite custodial parent’s substantially lower income. Awarding supported children a percentage of a non-custodial parent’s future bonuses ensures they will share in his standard of living.

How is the amount of the Child Support determined?

Federal law now requires that the amount of a child support payment be set in accordance with a guideline. Having a guideline is believed to prevent widely different amounts of child support being ordered from courtroom to courtroom. Guidelines provide an objective basis for the determination of the amount of support to be paid. As a result, most states have established formulas that are used to determine the amount of the payment from one parent to the other.

Does my divorce decree protect me if my ex-spouse has filed for bankruptcy and she has listed me as a co-signer on a Schedule D?

If you are contractually bound with your ex-spouse on a debt, the creditor can require the entire payment of that debt from your share of the marital property even though the divorce decree assigns the debt to your ex-spouse. Depending on the terms of your divorce decree, you may be able to have certain support obligations under it determined to be non-dischargeable by the bankruptcy court or in state court. If you find out that your ex-spouse has filed for bankruptcy, you should seek legal advice to find out your possible obligations.

My Ex Has Threatened To File Bankruptcy. What Effect Does Bankruptcy Have On Child Support?

Filing for bankruptcy protection does not allow your ex to discharge past due child support obligations. Any back payments owed for child support cannot be included as a debt and cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding.

However, the filing of a bankruptcy petition automatically stops collection activities on a support order. Since there are legal procedures that must be followed in order to lift the stay regarding the payments, it is crucial to retain an attorney who has expertise in bankruptcies.