March '02 - Child Support

        

There are new child support guidelines which became effective February 15, 2002.  I started to write this month's column on it in detail, but it turned out pretty dry and boring.  So let me give it to you in a nutshell.  Some things in the guidelines went up, and some things went down.  This means your child support could also go up or down, but you won't know where you stand until you apply the new guidelines to your own set of circumstances. 

There.  That was not only short and simple, but it makes a lot more sense than the long version.  And since I still have 3/4 of a column to fill, I'll talk about the most often asked question I hear regarding child support:  "Hes/he quit his/her job in order to get out of paying child support.  Can he/she do that?"

The answer is no.  Whether you are the custodial parent or the noncustodial parent, you are not allowed to quit your job and still expect to get out of paying your full share of child support.  Instead, the court will make the child support order based on what you are able to earn, not what you actually earn.  This is called "Attribution of Income."  Here's what the actual guidelines say on this:

"If the court makes a determination that either or both parties is earning substantially less than he or she could through reasonable effort, the court may consider potential earning capacity rather than actual earnings.  In making this determination, the court shall take into consideration the education, training and past employment history of the party.  These standards are intended to be applied where a finding has been made that the party is capable of working and is unemployed, working part-time or is working a job, trade, or profession other than that for which he/she has been trained."

This doesn't apply to custodial parents with children under 6 years old.  But outside of that, if you feel your ex is paying too little (or collecting too much) child support when they could get off their duff and do some work, you may be right.  But you need to show the court that they voluntarily reduced their income.  It is not enough just to show it decreased.  You also have to present credible evidence that they could be more fully employed if they only tried.  A good place to start is with their former boss.