When you divorce and have children, your child support settlement is one of the most serious issues that needs to be decided along with custodial and visitation rights. How your assets and debts are divided up may also play into your child support settlement as well.
Who Can Create a Child Support Settlement
Divorce courts consider it the responsibility of the parents who are divorcing to do their best to come up with a plan that they both can live with and that takes into account the best interests of the children. Divorcing parents who are unable to come to an agreement outside of a courtroom will have decisions made for them by a judge. Every state has guidelines for child support, and as you would expect, they vary from state to state.
The court will consider the following items when deciding on how much child support should be awarded:
- The family's standard of living before the parents divorced.
- If there are any special needs the child has.
- The financial resources of both parents after the divorce.
Considerations for Child Support
These three items mentioned above together with this list of additional considerations will help the court determine the amount of money that should be paid monthly for child support. Keep these things in mind as you attempt to craft a child support arrangement that can last for your child's entire minority:
- On what date each month can/should the payment be made?
- Can you have child support taken directly out of the non-custodial parent's salary?
- Build in considerations for increases over time, or even decreases as appropriate.
- Special payments for items like summer camp, karate lessons, a first car at a specific age or tuition planning.
- How college expenses will be handled.
Every State is Different
State laws concerning child support and how the amount is determined do vary, so be sure to understand how it works in your state. As an example, in North Carolina the courts will take into account the combined incomes of both parents, the number of children in the family and then it will consider the cost of items such as daycare and health insurance. In Georgia, if you have three children you can expect that your child support payment will be between 25% and 32% of your gross income. In Wyoming, child support is calculated as a division between the parents, based on their respective net incomes and the payments are made through a court appointed trustee.
Get Legal Help
It is imperative if you think you are going to be divorcing and you have children that you find an attorney that you like working with and can trust. In a divorce with children, there is so much at stake that will affect the children's lives for many years to come. Make sure you have excellent representation by an attorney who can explain, advise, guide and negotiate on your behalf.
