STEP THREE OF THE STRATEGIC DIVORCE PROCESS™—CHILD SUPPORT

The attorneys at Strategic Divorce strive to educate our clients on all relevant matters to ease an often- difficult process. We believe knowledge of the divorce process provides the strength and peace of mind to complete it. This goal of education inspired me to write The Strategic Divorce Process™.

My book breaks divorce into five distinct steps when children are involved. These steps are: 1. Making Decisions for Your Children; 2. Visitation; 3. Child Support; 4. Maintenance; and 5. Division of Marital Assets and Debts.

Allocation Judgement is a legal term for the document used to specifically assign parenting time and parenting responsibilities. Once Step 2 has been completed and the Allocation Judgement has been entered as a final order by the court, we move on to the marital settlement agreement. This next stage is expressed as Steps 3, 4, and 5 in The Strategic Divorce Process. In this monthly series, we will examine Step 3 or Child Support.

Under The Strategic Divorce Process, discussions around child support only begin once the Allocation Judgment has been reached, and with good reason. While the Allocation Judgement has no effect on child support, the visitation schedule it sets forth is the driving factor in the amount of money one spouse will pay—so it must be determined first.

Child support is an obligation of both parents to support their child until the child is 18 years old or has completed high school— whichever comes second. Typically, one parent will pay the other a set amount of money each month to help with living expenses for the child.

Child support is calculated using a complicated equation that takes a variety of variables into account. While some of the variables are obvious, such as the number of overnights and each parent’s income, others, such as who pays health insurance, are less obvious, and many parents may not have thought to consider them.

In addition to child support payments, parents usually divide the cost of additional expenses proportionate to their income. These expenses can include school fees, medical costs not covered by insurance, extracurricular activities, and other costs that don’t fall under day-to-day expenses. Often there is a 40/60 split, with the parent who has the higher income paying 60 percent, regardless of the visitation schedule.

The first step in determining the amount of child support is knowing who will be receiving it. If one parent has more than 60 percent of the overnights, the other parent will likely owe them child support—even if the parent with more visitation has a higher income. Parents who have less than 40 percent of the overnight visits will pay significantly more child support, even if the difference is only a few days.

Whoever has greater visitation is significant in other ways as well, as this parent will likely get the tax benefit from each child. This is important because the tax filing status of each parent is taken into the child support equation.

This may seem like an insignificant thing to consider, but it can have a large effect on the parent’s net income—and net income, not gross income, is what child support is based upon.

Spousal Support, also known as maintenance or alimony, can also affect the amount of child support. Although they are calculated separately, maintenance is considered income for the parent receiving it, which will reduce the income gap between each parent, affecting the child support calculation.

There are some situations that would cause child support to continue beyond the age of 18 or after high school graduation. For example, a new motion would be filed with the court asking the court to set how much each parent should pay toward college expenses. Another instance of continued support would be if the child had a disability.

While many of the decisions that factor into child support may be complicated, the actual equation leaves very little room for interpretation. Once the Allocation Judgement has been reached, child support is a pretty quick calculation in most cases. When parents work together, realizing that they both want what is best for their kids, it tends to be even easier.

Michone Riewer is an attorney with Strategic Divorce in Lake Bluff, 847-234-4445, strategicdivorce.com.