Support is calculated under state guidelines using parental income, custody arrangement, and specified expenses including health insurance and child care. Awards continue until emancipation with varying age and education provisions.
Guidelines create a rebuttable presumption.
Alternative Names:
Child Support Obligation|Support Order
Why it Matters?
Guideline calculations are presumptively correct, which means litigation concentrates on the inputs rather than the formula, particularly income determination for self-employed parents and overnight counts affecting the custody adjustment. Deviation requires findings explaining why guideline support would be unjust, and courts grant it sparingly. Post-majority support for college expenses varies dramatically and is unavailable in many states.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Where does litigation concentrate?
Is college support available?
