Child support can be a difficult issue to navigate when parents live apart. However, the parents’ financial stability and children’s well-being depend on fair and appropriate child support.
An experienced child support attorney can help a couple calculate child support in New Canaan. Although using the state’s formula is straightforward, there are numerous potential reasons to deviate from it. Working with a skilled legal professional can result in a fair child support order.
Connecticut uses an income shares model to determine the basic child support payment. The theory behind the formula is that a child should receive the same portion of their parents’ incomes as they would if their family was intact. The formula applies to parents with combined weekly net incomes of between $400 and $4,000.
A parent’s gross income includes the following:
Net income refers to gross income minus taxes and mandatory expenses such as taxes and health insurance. A New Canaan attorney can help a parent calculate their gross and net incomes to ensure they enter the correct numbers into the child support formula.
The formula amount is not necessarily the amount the parent will pay. Several circumstances could justify a higher or lower payment.
The formula assumes one parent has primary custody and the other has visitation. When both parents provide a home for the children and split time roughly equally, they also share the expense of raising the children, and an adjustment to child support would be fair in that case.
Other situations that merit adjustments to the child support amount include:
A deviation from the child support formula might also be appropriate when a New Canaan parent has other sources of income that are not counted in the net income calculation.
When the parents’ combined net weekly income exceeds $4,000, the formula amount is the starting point, but the actual child support payment is likely higher. Connecticut courts try to maintain the children’s standard of living when parents live apart, and the child support payment may include funds for things like private school tuition, travel, camp, sports, music lessons, and similar expenses.
Parents must present a parenting plan to the court that includes their arrangement for child support and physical and legal custody. When parents cannot agree on a plan, they each submit one, and the judge decides between them or substitutes a court-generated plan.
When parents agree to a deviation, the court may accept it if the judge’s review confirms it is in the children’s best interests. Connecticut General Statutes § 46b-84(d) also directs a judge to consider each parent’s age, health, occupation, education, and income when determining child support.
The child support order is enforceable, and parents must adhere to it. When a change in a parent’s circumstances requires a change to the order, the parent can apply to the court for a modification. A parent seeking to change or enforce an existing order should contact a lawyer for assistance.
The child support formula is designed to make child support awards consistent and fair. However, arriving at a fair calculation based on the family’s individual needs may present various complexities and grounds for dispute.
Consult an experienced family law attorney when you have questions about child support. Get started today.
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