Child Support: A divorce is an unfortunate event for a couple. It breaks a family apart and creates a difference. Who suffer most in these commotions are the children. It can be a traumatizing series of events seeing their parents drift away. The daily problem and ultimately breaking off. It might mean two Christmases, but the child is always confused about his parents, especially when either of the parents starts dating.
One main issue that divorce brings with it is financing troubles. It is hard enough to raise a child in this economy, let alone increase it as a single parent. Therefore, many nations have set Oakville child support programs that ensure no financial hindrance in a child’s upbringing and education in case of a divorce.
But which parent pays the child support?
There are a lot of factors involved in deciding what would be the amount of child support is due to the parent. First, let’s begin from the start. The obligor is the parent who has to pay the child support. In comparison, Obligee is the one receiving it. It automatically means that the Obligee has custody of the child. Of course, it can be joint custody too, but the rules do not change.
So, how does the court decide who is the obligor and Obligee? They first analyze which parent has spent the most time with the children. Then, additionally, the court investigates both parents to see who sacrificed the most of their well-being for the children—for instance, quitting a job to be with the kids, turning down a good financial offer to focus on the children, etc.
How much does the obligor have to pay?
The court considers many factors to decide the amount the obligor will be paying monthly. For example, the average child support around the United States is roughly $430. However, it does not mean that you will be paying/receiving the same amount.
First and foremost, child support heavily depends on the pay scale of the obligor. The support payment will be hefty if the obligor has a high-end job, whereas the Obligee can barely make ends meet. Roughly 17% of annual net income is given away in child support.
Some other factors that weigh in on this decision are:
Child’s disability
If a child is not a hundred percent healthy and suffers from a mental or physical deformity, the CS will be more. It is to cover all the medical expenses of the child. It includes medicines, routine doctor’s appointments, health insurance, etc.
If the child has special needs
If the child actively takes part in sports or is an avid learner, he might have other extra-curricular needs that may require financing. It is a common misconception that support money is only for the child’s necessities. On the contrary, it has to cover all educational expenses and any other financial needs the child may have.
The guidelines
Usually, there is a set of guidelines offered by the state government that helps the judge decide by seeing if the obligor is as per the guideline’s needs. Although these guidelines are clear-cut and applicable to everyone, it does not mean that the judge can’t make any alternations to them. Further on, we will discuss under what circumstances the judge can increase or decrease the support payment.
Can a Judge interfere with the support payment?
The judge has all the power to either increase or decreases the funding as he deems fit. It relies on the judge’s decision-making ability to ensure that the court sets a fair amount.
Following are some of the exceptional cases in which the judge may deviate from the guidelines and set a different child support sum under various circumstances.
More money than the child needs
As the support payment relies on how much the obligor makes, it means that if the obligor is well-off, the support cut will be hefty too. It might be too much for the child’s needs in some cases. If that is so, the judge may reduce the support fund to make sure the Obligee does not exploit the support for personal needs.
Obligor can’t pay
If in case, the obligor has other liabilities or has recently lost a job rendering them incapable of paying the sum, the judge might set a lenient figure so that the obligor can timely pay what they are due.
Obligor playing tricks
The judiciary system makes sure that there is no avoiding child support. So, it makes sure that the obliger is not trying to evade it. For instance, an obliger might be a licensed dentist, but he may have listed himself as just an assistant. In that case, the court will impute income and set it accordingly.
