Departing from Support Guidelines

The specificity of child support guidelines varies from state to state. Some guidelines are quite detailed and consider many factors. Courts usually do not depart from such guidelines except in exceptional cases. Other guidelines are more general--providing a certain amount of support based on the income of the parent (or parents) and the number of children, but not taking into account a variety of factors that could serve as a basis for increasing or decreasing the amount of support. Here are some factors that might be a basis for departing from guidelines:

Reasons for Going Above Guidelines

• Child care expenses (especially if unusually high)
• Cost of health and dental insurance
• Medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance
• Special educational needs, such as private school, tutoring, speech therapy
• Recreational activities such as summer camp, sports teams, and after-school activities
• Income of noncustodial parent’s new spouse (which may free funds of the noncustodial parent to pay more child support)
• Voluntary unemployment or underemployment of the noncustodial parent (in which case the court may attribute income to the noncustodial parent in an amount that the court thinks the parent should be making, even though he or she is not employed.)

Reasons for Going Below Guidelines

• Unusual custody arrangements such as splitting custody of the children (some children with mother; some children with father)
• Joint or shared custody arrangements in which the child spends an equal amount of time or a substantial amount of time with each parent
• High cost of transportation for child to visit with noncustodial parent, such as when the parents live in different states
• High income of the noncustodial parent (particularly if the guidelines do not have a cut-off point for which the guidelines do not apply for income above a certain level)
• The noncustodial parent’s duty to support other families, including a new spouse and child
• The noncustodial parent’s debts, particularly if the debts were incurred during the marriage to the spouse or former spouse who is seeking support
• Income of the custodial parent’s current spouse (which frees funds of the custodial parent to support the child)
• A need to channel funds to a closely held business (which may help the business grow and provide funds for more child support in the future)
• Property division in connection with a divorce, such as giving the custodial parent a home with a paid-off mortgage or low mortgage
• Significant income of the child, such as from a trust fund received by inheritance.