Divorcing couples with minor children must have a child support agreement in place before the end of the marriage can become final. Unmarried couples must negotiate child support as part of their parental responsibility plan.
Get help from a New Canaan child support lawyer with this process. An experienced family law attorney can ensure your children get the financial support they need.
A child has two legal parents who are required to contribute to child support if one or more of the following are true:
The court must determine paternity if a couple is unmarried when a child is born, and the father never acknowledges their role. A parent, a guardian, or an agency providing public assistance can bring legal action to establish paternity.
Courts usually order a genetic test unless the presumed father agrees to accept responsibility for the child. When a court names a man as the father of the child, that individual owes child support to the mother. Fathers have the legal obligation to provide support regardless of whether they are granted the opportunity to establish a relationship with their child.
Either parent can have primary physical custody of the children. The parent the children live with most of the time provides a home and sees to their day-to-day needs, and the other parent must contribute to those expenses by paying child support. When parents share time roughly equally, the higher-earning parent pays support to the lower-earning parent.
A parent must pay child support until the child turns 18 unless they are still in high school on their 18th birthday. If so, the support obligation ends when the child graduates from high school, turns 19, or is emancipated, whichever occurs first.
According to Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-84(c), when a child has an intellectual or developmental disability and is dependent on a parent, the obligation to pay child support may continue until they turn 26.
Connecticut uses an income shares formula to determine child support payments. The formula uses the parents’ combined net income and the number of minor children they share to find a presumptive support amount.
The formula assumes a family will spend a set percentage of their income to support their children, and it allocates this percentage between the parents on a prorated basis. A New Canaan lawyer can explain child support determinations in more detail during an initial consultation.
Parents often must adjust the guidelines amount to account for other factors. For example, when parents share custody, the child support payment is typically less because both provide the children with a home, food, and the necessities of life.
Parents may adjust the formula amount based on whether they provide health insurance for the child or divide the cost of uninsured medical and dental costs, extracurricular activities, and childcare expenses.
When the formula amount causes hardship to the paying parent, the receiving parent can agree to accept less, or the paying person could petition the court to accept a lower amount than the guidelines suggest.
When parents’ combined income exceeds $4000 per week, the capped guidelines amount serves as the floor. Courts want to prevent the children from experiencing a substantial change in lifestyle due to their parents’ separation, so a parent may be ordered to pay sufficient child support to allow the children to maintain their prior standard of living. Speak with a child support lawyer in New Canaan for more information.
The child support formula seems simple, but implementing it fairly can be complicated. Many families must make numerous adjustments to receive a proper child support amount.
Contact a New Canaan child support lawyer if you live apart from your co-parent. A skilled legal professional will help you determine appropriate support based on all the relevant factors.