http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Family-Child-Support/Federal/index.html LawInfo - Legal Resource Center offers free legal forms and free legal documents that is designed to help consumers and businesses resolve their legal issues http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Family-Child-Support/Federal/not-all-child-support-payments-are-equal.html <p><font face="Arial">The factors used to calculate child support payments are set by law.&nbsp; To calculate each parent&rsquo;s child support obligation the law generally applies each parent&rsquo;s income, including wages, assets such as stocks and bonds, welfare benefits, etc., and the standard of living of the child before the divorce.&nbsp; In certain cases, however, extraordinary needs of the child may be considered and deviations from the guidelines may be allowed. In most states where the court deviates from the guidelines, the judge is supposed to explain the reasons for the deviation in the order.</font></p> <p>The amount of a child support award is more than a question of the child&rsquo;s 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&rsquo;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 other parent has no obligation to support</p> <p><strong>Child Support Formulas</strong> <br /> <br /> Child support&nbsp; is a matter of&nbsp;state law and each state has their own system for calculating the payment amount.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There are&nbsp;three basic models though that each state falls under:</p> <p>a) Flat Percentage &ndash; <br /> The child support amount is based on a percentage of the non-custodial parent&rsquo;s income and the number of children they are supporting.&nbsp; The following states follow this rule:&nbsp; Alaska, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.</p> <p>b) Income Shares &ndash; The majority of states follow this model.<br /> <font face="Arial">The Income Shares model is based on the concept that the child should receive the same proportion of parental income that he or she would have received if the parents lived together.&nbsp; Prior to the divorce or separation of the parents, the combined parental income is spent for the benefit of all household members, including any children.&nbsp; Thus, the income shares model calculates support as the share of each parent's income estimated to have been allocated to the child if the parents and child were living in an intact household.&nbsp; Using the Income Shares model, the amount of child support is basically determined by calculating the total amount needed for the support of the children and then pro-rating that amount between each parent based on his/her proportionate share of the total income.&nbsp; The obligor parent&rsquo;s obligation is payable as child support, while the other parent's portion retained and presumed to be spent directly on the child. </font></p> <p>For example: if the court has determined that the children need $1000 a month and the parents make a combined $100,000 annually, in which the father makes $60,000 annually and the mother makes $40,000 annually, the father will be required to pay $600 a month and the mother $400 a month.</p> <p>Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming follow this model.</p> <p>c) Melson Formula &ndash; Only Delaware, Hawaii and Montana follow this model.<br /> The child support payment is calculated based on a variety of factors (the &ldquo;Melson Factors&rdquo;), including both parents&rsquo; incomes and the needs of the child.</p> <p><strong>Support Past 18</strong><br /> <a href="http://www.lawinfo.com/child-support.html"><br /> Child support</a>&nbsp;orders generally expire upon becoming a legal adult, which usually consists of turning 18 years of age or graduation from high school whichever comes later, or if the child has married, acquired an emancipation order or enlisted in the military.</p> <p>Though every state does not require child support after graduation from high school some states do require support payments to continue if the child attends college.&nbsp; These states include:&nbsp; Alabama, Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.</p> <p><strong>Inability to Pay</strong><br /> <br /> The inability of a parent to pay their <a href="http://www.lawinfo.com/child-support.html">child support</a>&nbsp;order because they cannot work will not excuse them from the order.&nbsp; Missed payments will accrue as arrears even if a parent is in jail, in the hospital or any other situation which does not allow them to work.&nbsp; When the parent is able to work they will be required to pay back the arrears.</p> <p><strong>Custody vs Support</strong><br /> <br /> Every state treats child visitation and custody separately from the obligation to pay child support.&nbsp; If a parent is not granted visitation by the court or if the other parent interferes with a visitation or custody order the parent may not protest by refusing to pay their child support payments.</p> <p><strong>Changing an Order</strong><br /> <br /> A child support order is entered based on the parents&rsquo; current income levels.&nbsp; A parent may not unilaterally reduce or stop their child support payments because of a loss of income or additional expenses.&nbsp; If a parent feels that their current child support payment is too high they may ask the court to modify the order.&nbsp; Until a modification order is entered the original child support amount is still in effect.&nbsp; Likewise, a parent may ask the court to increase a parent&rsquo;s child support payment because of added income or decreased expenses.</p> <p><strong>Cost of Child Care</strong><br /> <br /> A non-custodial parent may be required to pay part of the cost of their child&rsquo;s day care if the custodial parent uses day care to go to work.&nbsp; Because the employment of the custodial parent increases the amount of income used to support the child both parents benefit from the cost of child care.&nbsp; Thus, this cost may be divided between the parents (usually 50% each). The parent who actually pays for the child care receives payment from the other parent.</p> <p>For more information&nbsp;about child support, Contact a qualified <a href="http://www.lawinfo.com/fuseaction/Client.lawarea/categoryid/17"> family law attorney</a> in your area today.<br /> </p> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:40:27 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Family-Child-Support/Federal/child-support-enforcement-options.html There are a variety of different enforcement tools that are available to you in enforcing your court order for child support.&nbsp; You can use these tools by hiring a private attorney to help you, filing the appropriate paperwork with the court on your own, or applying for assistance through your local child support enforcement office.&nbsp; All states have a child support enforcement agency where you can get help with child support enforcement for free, or by paying a small fee.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> One of the most common ways for enforcing <a href="http://www.lawinfo.com/child-support.html/">child support</a> is to have the payments directly garnished from the other parent&rsquo;s paycheck.&nbsp; The court, or, in some states, your local child support enforcement agency, can issue a garnishment or income withholding order to the other parent&rsquo;s employer so that you receive your payments according to the terms of your court order.&nbsp; Even if you don&rsquo;t know where the other parent works, your local child support enforcement agency often will have access to employment information from different sources, which will help you get a garnishment order.<br /> <br /> There are other administrative actions that your local child support enforcement agency can take to get your child support payments.&nbsp; The agency can intercept state and federal income tax refunds, seize lottery and casino winnings, attach bank accounts, place liens on real estate and vehicles, suspend driver&rsquo;s licenses, professional licenses, such as a real estate or teaching license, and recreational licenses, such as a fishing license.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> If taking these administrative actions still doesn&rsquo;t get your child support payments coming in, you can also turn to the court that issued your child support order for help.&nbsp; In most states, you can file a civil contempt citation against the other parent for failure to pay child support, which asks the court to enforce its child support order, and can result in incarceration or other sanctions against that parent.&nbsp; Your attorney or child support enforcement agency can file the necessary paperwork for a civil contempt citation, but in many states, you can file this paperwork on your own by filling out a few simple forms. <br /> <br /> In situations where the amount of back <a href="http://www.lawinfo.com/child-support.html/">child support</a>, or support arrearages, is very high, your local prosecutor or state&rsquo;s attorney&rsquo;s office may even be able to file criminal charges against the other parent for non-payment, which may result in probation, home detention, or incarceration.&nbsp; In many states, criminal non-support can be a felony, which can result in a lengthy period of incarceration.<br /> <br /> Even if the other parent lives out of state, you can still enforce your child support order.&nbsp; Every state has enacted some version of the Uniform Interstate Support Enforcement Act (&ldquo;UIFSA&rdquo;), which allows state child support enforcement agencies to work cooperatively with one another in enforcing other states&rsquo; child support orders.&nbsp; For example, if Mary lives in Illinois, John is ordered to pay her child support, but John has now moved to Indiana, then the Illinois child support enforcement agency can file a UIFSA action that asks Indiana to enforce the Illinois child support order.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> In summary, you have many options for enforcing your child support order.&nbsp; However, it is up to you to take the first step and seek help in collecting child support for your child.&nbsp; Contact an attorney for more information about these options, and others, which may be available to help you enforce your child support order.<br /> <br /> For more information on child support enforcement, contact a <a href="http://www.lawinfo.com/fuseaction/Client.lawarea/categoryid/159">child support attorney</a> today. Child Support Articles Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:29:20 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Family-Child-Support/Federal/do-i-need-to-hire-a-lawyer-to-establish-or-en.html Every state has child support agencies that are set up to help you establish and enforce a child support order.&nbsp; By filling out a short application and submitting a copy of your support order, if one already exists, you easily can enlist the help of your local child support office.&nbsp; These offices offer free child support services to people who receive public assistance, such as Temporary Aid to Needy Families (&ldquo;TANF&rdquo;), Medicaid, or food stamps.&nbsp; Even if you don&rsquo;t receive any sort of public assistance, you can still get help with a child support order by paying a fee of approximately $25.00.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> You can also hire a lawyer in private practice to help you establish and/or enforce a child support order.&nbsp; This can be particularly wise when you not only have child support issues with your ex, but you also are having other problems with your ex that concern your child.&nbsp; While federal law requires that state and local child support agencies assist you in establishing and/or enforcing a child support order, you need to remember that these agencies deal strictly with child support, and not with any other issues concerning your child for which you might need help.&nbsp; Issues such as child custody and visitation are extraordinarily important to you, your ex, and most of all, your child, and often must be dealt with through the court system.&nbsp; For these types of issues, you are well advised to hire a lawyer who specializes in family law matters.<br /> <br /> Whether you are working with a private lawyer or a lawyer from a child support agency, he or she will guide you through the often complex process of filing the appropriate paperwork with the court system in order to get a child support order.&nbsp; A lawyer can help you locate your ex, properly and legally serve your ex with notice that you want a child support order, and document any income that your ex receives.&nbsp; A lawyer can also help you determine what financial information you need in order to properly calculate a child support obligation for your ex.&nbsp; Calculating child support is often rather complicated, as well, and can require the use of specialized software programs.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> Once a child support is established, it can be difficult for some parents to enforce it.&nbsp; If your ex won&rsquo;t pay his or her child support, your only way to enforce the order is through your local child support office or your court system.&nbsp; Again, either a private lawyer or a child support office can help you with enforcement of your child support order.&nbsp; Both types of lawyers can obtain garnishment orders if your ex is employed, or file contempt of court proceedings against your ex for not following the court&rsquo;s child support order.&nbsp; Other remedies include intercepting tax refunds, placing holds on passports, and entering liens against vehicles and real estate.&nbsp; A lawyer is helpful in pursuing any of these enforcement remedies. Child Support Articles Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:10:29 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Family-Child-Support/Federal/how-to-establish-paternity.html <div>With steadily rising numbers of children being born out of wedlock, and a society that no longer stigmatizes having children outside of a marriage, paternity courts are overrun with unmarried litigants seeking to establish paternity, custody, visitation, child support and related matters regarding their children.&nbsp;Fortunately, paternity court is not the only means of establishing paternity, and family laws are changing to accommodate the reality of unmarried parents and their children.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>In general, state laws provide for both voluntary and involuntary paternity proceedings.&nbsp;In order to ease the establishment of paternity, many states in recent years have provided a mechanism by which a putative father, or the alleged father of a child born out of wedlock, can voluntarily establish paternity by executing a sworn paternity affidavit or acknowledgement, which, when completed, establishes the father as the legal father of the child.&nbsp;Many couples who are unmarried, but intend to reside together with their child as a family unit, choose to execute such an affidavit or acknowledgment and/or otherwise place the father&rsquo;s name on the child&rsquo;s birth certificate, thus obviating the need for formal paternity proceedings in court.&nbsp;The downside to paternity affidavits, however, is when the parents&rsquo; relationship sours, and while paternity has been established, there are no formal court orders regarding custody, visitation, and/or child support.&nbsp;In this case, the family must visit the family court in order to establish applicable court orders regarding their child(ren).</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>All states laws also provide for the establishment of paternity through formal court proceedings, whether it is on a voluntary or involuntary basis.&nbsp;Typically, if paternity has not been otherwise established by affidavit or acknowledgment, the parties are given the opportunity to undergo genetic testing, or DNA testing, in order to determine whether a putative father is the biological father of a child.&nbsp;Given the accuracy of DNA testing, participating in a DNA test usually resolves the issue of whether a putative father is in fact the biological father of the child.&nbsp;The parties then would proceed to a court hearing at which paternity is established, and orders are issued regarding custody, visitation, child support, and/or other related issues.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Additionally, many states presume that if a child is born during a marriage, then the husband is the father of the child.&nbsp;In some states, this presumption can be rebutted by undergoing DNA testing, which can conclusively prove otherwise.&nbsp;However, in other states, there is no DNA testing or other method to disprove paternity that is legally available if a child was born during an intact marriage, even if all parties concerned know that the husband is not the biological father of the child.&nbsp;This can lead to non-biological fathers being responsible for the needs of the children, including the legal duty to pay child support in some instances.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>A similar situation arises when a putative father signs the paternity affidavit or acknowledgement, while at the same time realizing that he is not, or at least might not be the biological father of the child.&nbsp;Likewise, a putative father might rely on the mother&rsquo;s assertions that he is the only possible biological father of the child in choosing to sign the informal documents needs to establish paternity.&nbsp;In many jurisdictions, such a father is the legal father of the child, even if it is later proven or alleged that he is not the child&rsquo;s biological father.&nbsp;In these cases, there may be no legal recourse for a legal father who is in fact not a biological father, and who is bound to legally support the child throughout his or her minority.&nbsp;</div> Child Support Articles Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:06:50 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Adoption-Law-Family/Federal/index.html Free Adoption Law Articles Family Law Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:20:46 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Child-Abuse/Federal/index.html Free Child Abuse Articles Family Law Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:20:46 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Child-Abuse-Law/Federal/index.html Free Child Abuse Law Articles Family Law Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:20:46 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Family-Child-Custody-Visitation/Federal/index.html Free Child Custody and Visitation Articles Family Law Sub-categories Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:20:46 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Fathers-and-Child-Support/Federal/index.html Free Child Support Father Right Articles Family 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