Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System
Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System
158 Judy Reichler payment pending a determination of reasonableness. This way the custodial parent — who must, in most instances, pay the doctor’s bill at the time of treatment — will not always be the one who is without the money while the court makes its decision. Child Care Costs The CSSA also requires the court to order the noncustodial parent to pay a pro rata share of the reasonable child care expenses incurred by the custodial parent while she is working or in school. This amount must be added to the child support amount determined through the percentages and must be paid to the custodial parent. Optional Additional Amounts After determining if there are any mandatory additions, the court has discretion to make additional orders. Child Care Costs The court may apportion reasonable child care expenses between the parents where it is determined that the custodial parent is seeking work and incurs such expenses as a result. Education of the Children The CSSA directs the court to determine whether or not it would be appropriate for the child to receive — presently or in the future — post-secondary, private, special or enriched education. This section leaves a determination of appropriateness to the discretion of the court, which will look at several factors, including (a) the educational background of the parents, (b) the child’s academic ability, and (c) the parent’s financial ability to provide the necessary funds. Life Insurance The court may order a party to purchase, maintain, or assign a policy of accident or life insurance on the life of either party and, in the case of life insurance, to designate the persons on whose behalf the petition is brought as irrevocable beneficiaries. Additional Support from Non-Recurring Payments In addition to the basic child support amount, the court may allocate a portion of any non-recurring payments from extraordinary sources a parent is receiving, or may be entitled to receive. Since payment from these sources isn’t made on a regular basis, they are easy to overlook. The sources can include such
Victim Who Needs Child Support 159 things as money received from life insurance policies, gifts, inheritances, lottery winnings, and personal injury recoveries. Reduction for Non-Custodial Parent with Little Income In enacting the CSSA, the legislature provided for a significant reduction of the child support required of a low-income noncustodial parent. While it may seem complicated at first, the basic premise is that, where the annual amount of the basic child support obligation would reduce a noncustodial parent’s income below the poverty level for one person, no more than $25 per month may be ordered. A similar protection, in the form of a maximum order, is provided to other noncustodial parents with slightly higher incomes. The statute provides that, where the annual amount of the basic child support obligation would reduce the noncustodial parent’s income below something called the “self-support reserve” (135% of the poverty level), the obligation will be $50 per month, or the difference between the noncustodial parent’s income and the self-support reserve, whichever is greater. Since these figures change each year, you are cautioned to keep up to date on the yearly changes in the poverty level. Factors for Rebutting the Presumption The amount established according to the formula creates a rebuttable presumption as to the appropriate amount of child support, and this amount must be ordered unless the court finds this amount to be unjust or inappropriate based upon consideration of certain factors. 19 The argument most often raised by a custodial parent for deviating from the formula amount is contained in factor three: “the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage or household not been dissolved.” Under this factor, counsel may be able to increase child support by demonstrating that the obligor parent has the ability to provide support beyond the amount that could be ordered by straight application of the percentage to acknowledged income. Another factor, “the educational needs of either parent,” provides an opportunity for counsel to argue for a temporary increase in the amount if the client needs certain education to be able to adequately support the children. This may be particularly important for a client who is not married to the other parent and, for that reason, not eligible for spousal support to increase the amount of support available from the other parent.
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Victim Who Needs Child Support 159<br />
things as money received from life insurance policies, gifts, inheritances, lottery<br />
winnings, and personal injury recoveries.<br />
Reduction for Non-Custodial Parent with Little Income<br />
In enacting the CSSA, the legislature provided for a significant reduction of<br />
the child support required of a low-income noncustodial parent. While it may seem<br />
complicated at first, the basic premise is that, where the annual amount of the<br />
basic child support obligation would reduce a noncustodial parent’s income below<br />
the poverty level for one person, no more than $25 per month may be ordered.<br />
A similar protection, in the form of a maximum order, is provided to other<br />
noncustodial parents with slightly higher incomes. The statute provides that,<br />
where the annual amount of the basic child support obligation would reduce the<br />
noncustodial parent’s income below something called the “self-support reserve”<br />
(135% of the poverty level), the obligation will be $50 per month, or the<br />
difference between the noncustodial parent’s income and the self-support<br />
reserve, whichever is greater.<br />
Since these figures change each year, you are cautioned to keep up to date<br />
on the yearly changes in the poverty level.<br />
Factors for Rebutting the Presumption<br />
The amount established according to the formula creates a rebuttable<br />
presumption as to the appropriate amount of child support, and this amount<br />
must be ordered unless the court finds this amount to be unjust or inappropriate<br />
based upon consideration of certain factors. 19<br />
The argument most often raised by a custodial parent for deviating from the<br />
formula amount is contained in factor three: “the standard of living the child<br />
would have enjoyed had the marriage or household not been dissolved.” Under<br />
this factor, counsel may be able to increase child support by demonstrating that<br />
the obligor parent has the ability to provide support beyond the amount that<br />
could be ordered by straight application of the percentage to acknowledged<br />
income. Another factor, “the educational needs of either parent,” provides an<br />
opportunity for counsel to argue for a temporary increase in the amount if the<br />
client needs certain education to be able to adequately support the children. This<br />
may be particularly important for a client who is not married to the other parent<br />
and, for that reason, not eligible for spousal support to increase the amount of<br />
support available from the other parent.
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