The child support guidelines in Georgia are based on the gross income of. How do courts determine what a parent is able to pay? Child support you pay for other children from your net income figure, which is. The act also encourages states to use paternity tests to establish responsibility for child support, and requires.
In order to calculate child support, Georgia uses very specificguidelines based on an “Income Shares Model.” This model estimates thetotal amount that parents would spend on a child in an intact familyunit, and then splits this amount proportionately according to theparents’ incomes. Parents can access the current guidelines through the.The guidelines are quite complex and detailed; this article providesonly a brief overview. If you’re having trouble navigating through allof the forms, or have specific questions, you should contact a lawyer. Using Guidelines to Calculate Child SupportIf you’re trying to estimate child support, you can use theprovided by the Georgia Child Support Commission. The first step is todecide which parent is the “custodial” parent and which is the“noncustodial” parent. Generally, the custodial parent has the childrenmore than half the time, while the noncustodial parent has the childrenless than half the time. If parenting time is equal, you may not be ableto determine which parent is custodial and which is noncustodial beforefirst working through the financial calculations.
In this case, thenoncustodial parent will be the parent with the higher child supportobligation, which is usually—but not always—the parent who starts outwith the higher income. Although the worksheets and calculators willgive a support amount for both parents, only the noncustodial parentpays child support to the custodial parent. This is because courtsassume that the custodial parent’s support amount is going directly tocosts of supporting children. Calculating Income and DeductionsTocomplete the financial calculations, add up each parent’s monthly grossincome, which includes most types of income, whether earned orunearned. Common examples are wages, commissions, self-employmentearnings, retirement account payments, disability payments, andinvestment income.
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If you’re self-employed, you can deduct necessarycosts of doing business from your gross receipts to get your grossincome, but be aware that the allowable deductions are very limited anddo not include everything allowed by the IRS. The manual worksheetsinclude a separate form for calculating self-employment income. Grossincome doesn’t include child support received for children from otherrelationships or public assistance, but it does include significantwork-related benefits that reduce personal living expenses—such ashousing, meals, or a car.You can deduct child support you paid inanother case and half of any self-employment taxes you paid from yourgross income. If you have natural or adopted children from anotherrelationship living with you, and those children are not subject to achild support order, you may also be able to deduct an amount for theirsupport.
There is a separate worksheet for estimating this amount. Basic Child Support ObligationTofind the basic child support obligation, add the parents’ adjustedgross incomes together and match the total with the column containingthe applicable number of children in the BasicChild-Support Obligation Schedule. You can find the current version ofthe schedule at the very end of the guidelines available through the.To find each parent’s percentage share of this basic amount, divideeach parent’s income by the combined income. For example, if theparents’ combined adjusted gross income is $10,000, with thenoncustodial parent earning $7,000 and the custodial parent earning$3,000, the noncustodial parent would be responsible for 70% of supportand the custodial parent for 30%. The basic child support amount in theschedule for one child when the parents’ combined monthly income is$10,000 is $1,259, so in this example the noncustodial parent would paythe custodial parent 70% of $1,259 or $881.30. Adjustments for Child Care or Health InsuranceTheonly expenses parents can automatically add to the basic supportobligation are costs of children’s health insurance and any necessarywork related child care. These expenses are normally pro-rated betweenthe parents.
In the example above, if the noncustodial parent pays $150for health insurance and the custodial parent pays $350 for child care,70% of the $500 total amount, or $350, would be the noncustodialparent’s responsibility and 30% of the $500 total, or $150, would be thecustodial parent’s responsibility. The amount of $350 would be added tothe noncustodial parent’s $881.30 support payment to get a new paymentof $1,231.30. The noncustodial parent can subtract the $150 paid forhealth insurance, and the final support amount—called the “presumptivesupport amount” in the guidelines—will be $1,081.30. The noncustodialparent will pay this amount to the custodial parent. Deviating from the Child Support GuidelinesIfthe presumptive support amount doesn’t accurately reflect the parents’ability to pay or the best interests of the children, the court candeviate from the amount. Specific conditions that sometimes justify adeviation include extraordinary educational or medical expenses or othercourt-approved special expenses for a child, including such things asart or music lessons. These expenses are generally prorated between theparents.
A court will consider making a deviation for extremely lowincome where a noncustodial parent’s gross income is $1,850 or less permonth, but will also take into account the impact of a reduction on thecustodial parent’s ability to provide the children with basicnecessities. A deviation for extremely high income may be appropriatewhere the parents’ combined adjusted gross income exceeds $30,000 permonth.If you have joint physical custody, or any parentingarrangement where the noncustodial parent spends significantly more timewith the children than the standard visitation schedule (alternateweekends plus some summer and holiday time), the noncustodial parent canrequest a deviation. There is no standard parenting time adjustment,but Georgia courts typically adjust the payment downward to account for anoncustodial parent’s increased direct expenses. A court that orderssupport in an amount that differs from the guidelines must specify thereasons for doing so in writing. Imputing IncomeIfyou are legitimately having difficulty finding work or have been laidoff from a job, you can request a lower support payment. Unfortunately,there are some parents who will try to avoid paying support by refusingto look for work or by quitting a high paying position for a lowerpaying job.
Courts don’t tolerate this kind of behavior and willsometimes order support based on the income that a parent could earnwith reasonable effort, rather than just the income of the lower-payingjob. If a parent is temporarily underemployed or unemployed for a reasonthat will eventually benefit the children—for example to obtaintraining for a higher-paying position—the court will take this reasoninto account.
Modification or Termination of SupportAparent that wants to modify (change) an existing support order mustshow some change in long-term conditions that materially affects either aparent’s income or a child’s needs. If the court has already modifiedan order, a parent must ordinarily wait two years before asking foranother modification.
The court will waive the waiting period in certainsituations, including involuntary job loss, significant change inparenting time, or a noncustodial parent’s failure to exercisevisitation.If you have a support award that a court enteredbefore 2007, and a revised calculation (based on post-2007 Georgia law)would result in an award that is at least 15% higher than what you’rereceiving now, you can request a modification. Depending on the amountof the difference, the court may order the new amount phased in over atime period of up to two years.Georgia child support generallyends when the child turns 18 unless the child is still attending highschool full-time, in which case it continues until the child turns 20 orgraduates from high school, whichever happens first. The obligation maycontinue longer if a child is disabled and not capable of self-support. Enforcing Child SupportThe(DCSS), is responsible for helping families obtain child supportpayment orders, locate absent parents, establish paternity if necessary,and secure compliance with child support court orders. Ifyour child’s other parent has stopped making child support payments, orisn’t making full payments on time, you should contact a lawyer or theDCSS for assistance.
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