As family lawyers, we confront a lot of questions about child support. How can I get more child support? How can I pay less? I understand Lulu needs braces, but is it really also my responsibility to finance her eighth American Girl doll?

These questions swell when family situations change: one parent remarries a much wealthier person; Uncle Albert’s inheritance is passed along; or your ex-spouse wins the lottery (trust us, it happens). While all these seem like valid reasons for recalculating child support payments, the court specifically states there must be a “substantial and continuing change” in circumstances to even consider increasing or decreasing that monthly obligation. In Colorado, a “substantial change” typically translates to at least a 10 percent raise or reduction in the parent’s income— which means child support could be modified if Dad took a severe pay cut, not if he marries Georgina Bloomberg.

The other part of that equation is the “continuing change.” Although losing one’s job is certainly a “substantial change” in circumstances, Colorado courts have previously determined unemployment (or underemployment, for that matter) is only a temporary state of affairs and have refused to modify the amount of child support due in certain cases as a result. Similarly, the court declined to recalculate or abate the child support obligations of a man about to be incarcerated for six years, claiming jail time alone wasn’t justification enough for adjusting the existing arrangement.

Inheritances, prize winnings, and lottery proceeds, however, are considered “substantial changes” and have warranted modifications to child support in the past. A good Denver divorce lawyer could even prove that the rate of inflation has spurred a change in circumstances conducive to revising the amount of support needed or owed. In sum, the court is not interested in whether it would have awarded the same amount of child support based on the family’s current monetary situation, but whether the terms of the original agreement have become “unfair” in light of major changes to either parent’s finances.

The exception to these guidelines is, of course, a medical concern. If Lulu does suddenly need braces or, heaven forbid, surgery or long-term medication, then the court will step in to ensure the financial burden is shared by both parents.

Divorce Matters is well-versed in “substantial and continuing changes,” so please contact us if you would like to review your child support agreement!

Married or Not, All Parents Owe Child Support

Divorce is already difficult between two adults. When you add children into the mix, it makes the process more complicated with figuring where the child will live, who pays child support, and more.

From daycare to pediatric visits to after-school snacks, it will cost an average $310,605 for a middle-class couple to raise a child from birth through high school. This figure is up more than 9 percent from a calculation based on the inflation rate only two years ago, and it doesn’t even include those costly four years of college.

Fortunately, single parents don’t need to bear this financial responsibility alone. Whether you were legally married or not, who pays child support is backed by Colorado law, which ensures that a “fair share” of each parent’s income is given to the child. Child support is a common matter in divorce cases, of course, but many single mothers and fathers don’t realize their ex-partner may be entitled to or may be obliged to pay monetary assistance as well.

Seeking Child Support?

In order to seek child support, the first step is to establish paternity. This is traditionally filled out on the birth certificate when the child is born, but you could also submit a “Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity” form or undergo a DNA test at a later date. Alternatively, the only way to dismiss child support responsibilities is by terminating your paternal rights; this often occurs when a step-parent is willing to take over and provide for the child. While paternity is a key concern in obtaining child support, it should be noted that a mother is just as responsible for contributing financially to a child’s upbringing and may be required to make monthly maintenance payments herself.

Likewise, unmarried same-sex parents are also obliged to share the cost of raising a child. They’ll have to file paperwork under the Uniform Parentage Act to claim parentage, but Colorado has made several advancements in giving non-biological same-sex parents more parental rights. In cases where a non-biological parent has not legally adopted the child or signed the birth certificate, it may also be possible to prove in loco parentis, which essentially means the individual has assumed a parental relationship for all practical purposes.

Once parentage is legally established, the court will plug a number of elements into a standard formula to determine a monthly child support plan. These factors include the number of children, the number of nights spent with each parent, daycare fees, health insurance costs, and each parent’s gross income. The particular needs of the child (“But Lulu can only eat organic carrots!”) are very rarely considered by the court. You can calculate your monthly payments through the Colorado Judicial Department’s website, or with our child support calculator app on your own at any time.

A standard of living adequate for a child’s development provided for by both parents is considered a fundamental human right under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and is therefore a very serious responsibility.

Who Pays Child Support? Understanding Financial Responsibility

One of the most common questions in family law is: who pays child support? The simple answer is that both parents have a financial obligation to support their child, but the amount each parent contributes depends on custody arrangements, income, and other financial factors.

In Colorado, the parent with primary custody (meaning the child lives with them the majority of the time) typically receives child support, while the non-custodial parent makes payments. However, in cases of joint custody where time is split equally, the parent with the higher income may still be responsible for making payments to ensure the child’s standard of living remains balanced between households.

Modifying Child Support Payments

Life circumstances can change, affecting the ability to pay or receive child support. If a parent loses a job, gets a significant raise, or experiences a change in custody arrangements, one or the other can petition the court to modify the existing child support order.

Colorado courts recognize that financial situations fluctuate, so either parent can request a review of child support payments if a significant change occurs. However, until a modification is legally approved, the original court-ordered amount remains in effect.

What Happens If a Parent Fails to Pay Child Support?

Failure to meet child support obligations can result in serious consequences. Colorado enforces child support payments through wage garnishment, tax refund interception, suspension of driver’s and professional licenses, and even jail time in extreme cases. If you are struggling to make payments, it’s essential to seek legal assistance rather than ignore the issue.

Seeking Legal Assistance for Child Support Issues

Understanding who pays child support and how payments are calculated can be overwhelming, especially in complex family situations. Consulting an experienced family law attorney can help ensure that the child support arrangement is fair and legally sound. Whether you are seeking payments or are concerned about your obligations, legal guidance can help navigate the process smoothly.

Divorce Matters® is well-versed in child support in the state of Colorado. Our experienced attorneys stand ready to fight for you and your children’s rights and get the best possible outcome for you. If you need help paying or receiving child support, please contact one of Divorce Matters’ knowledgeable lawyers.

The drone of the “Get your billion back, America” commercials have likely already alerted you to the fact, but tax season is officially upon us! Things can get a little complicated if you’ve separated or divorced within the last year, so here are a few things to pay attention to when filing your paperwork:

1. Communicate with your ex-partner. It’s important that BOTH of you list the same figure for alimony support and that only ONE of you claims a single child as a dependent. The tax terms should be explicitly stated in your separation or divorce decree, but it’s definitely worth revisiting what you’ve already agreed to in order to avoid any innocent mistakes. Discrepancies in the numbers and duplicated claims are red flags for the IRS, and the last thing anyone wants is a laborious audit with their former spouse.

2. How you file depends on your status on the last day of 2013. If your separation or divorce decree came through between January 1 and April 15 of 2014, the tax return you submit for 2013 should still reflect your married status. On the other hand, you cannot file as married for financial reasons even if your decree only came through in December and you were together for most of the year. Some people, however, may qualify for the “Head of Household” status if they lived apart from their spouse for the last six months of 2013.

On that note, you need to register a name change immediately. The name you write on the tax return and the one registered with the Social Security Administration must match. If you’ve reverted to your maiden name or dropped a hyphenated surname, use these instructions to make sure your tax refund isn’t delayed over a bureaucratic matter.

3. The “Head of Household” or “Custodial Parent” is the person with whom your children live for more than half the year (i.e., 183 nights). If, however, the child spent an equal number of nights at each house, the custodial parent is the one with the higher adjusted gross income. To get down into the nitty gritty, begin your calculations from December 31 as that is considered the first night of the year. There are a whole bunch of addendums for those in special situations, such as parents who work nights or for when a child is away at camp, so we recommend you read up on those here.

4. If you do split custody evenly and aren’t using the “Head of Household” status, consider also splitting the dependency claim. The IRS allows parents to divide their children for tax benefits even if the children are always together and spend an identical amount of time with each parent. Therefore, the mother could claim Jack while the father claims Jill without penalty. Alternatively””or if you don’t have an even number of children””you could switch back and forth over who gets the dependency claim each year. The main thing is that both parents cannot claim the same child as a dependent in the same tax year.

5. Child support is neither deductible nor taxable. If your ex-spouse owes you back child support though, it is possible to apply for an offset from the IRS. This means the delinquent parent’s tax refund will be intercepted and sent to you instead to settle the debt. More information on submitting a case for the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program may be found here.

6. Alimony payments are deductible and taxable, however, if there is legal documentation of the support agreement. It’s perfectly legitimate to include all forms of support (a salary deduction and car insurance payments, for instance) as part of the alimony calculation, just make sure both of you are writing down the exact same figure.

7. Unfortunately, you cannot deduct any legal or court fees for getting a divorce. You may, however, deduct legal fees for getting advice on your alimony arrangement or on how to file your taxes. You may also deduct the cost of appraisers and accountants obtained to determine your tax obligations or to help you get alimony.

Confused? Call us at 720.542.6142 and we’ll get all your (tax-deductible!) questions sorted.

The Colorado Court of Appeals recently issued a decision regarding whether military housing and food allowances should be considered income when determining child support.

In the case of In re Parental Responsibilities of L.K.Y., and Concerning Peabody, the Mother was serving in the U.S. Army and lived off base and received housing and food allowances in addition to her salary. Mother argued that the housing and food allowances should not be considered income, which would increase her child support obligation, but should be used to reduce the child’s basic needs and therefore reduce her child support obligation.

The court disagreed and determined that the housing and food allowances should be included in her gross income, which in turn increased her child support obligation under Colorado’s Child Support Guidelines.

The most interesting part of the decision is the concurring opinion of Judge Rothenberg of the Court of Appeals. In Colorado, a parent’s child support obligation is determined by using the Child Support Guidelines. The resulting child support figure under the Guidelines is presumed to be reasonable and correct. However, a Judge has the authority to deviate from the Guidelines if, under the specific circumstances, the resulting child support obligation is not fair and reasonable. In this case, Judge Rothenberg raised the question as to whether including the housing and food allowance should have been grounds to deviate from the child support guidelines since the application of the child support guidelines, in this case, arguably resulted in an unfair child support obligation. In fact, Judge Rothenberg wrote that “It is unclear from the record why the magistrate found no compelling reason to deviate from the statutory child support guidelines.” However, since the parent did not request the Court to deviate from the Guidelines and this issue was not raised in the appeal, the Court of Appeals did not address the argument.

So what do we learn from this case? We learn that Mother should have argued that including her housing and food allowances in determining her child support obligation was not fair or was unreasonable and the court should have deviated from the Guidelines.  If the Court had determined that it was unreasonable or unfair, the court could have determined that all of her housing and food allowances, or maybe a portion, should not have been included as income in determining her child support obligation.

In Colorado, child support is calculated using child support guidelines (formula).  The guidelines are the same throughout the entire state.  Therefore, Denver does not have separate child support guidelines.  The Court can vary from the guidelines, but most Courts, including the Denver Courts, will not vary from the guidelines without an extremely compelling reason. There are exceptions and other complexities to the calculation of child support. For the purposes of this post, I am going to talk about the general factors you need to understand how the Colorado Child Support guidelines work.

Child support is calculated using three major factors:

1. Gross Income: Each parent’s gross income is placed into the formula.  If you are a salaried or full-time hourly employee this is relatively simple.  Bonuses are included.  Overtime is not considered gross income unless it is required as part of employment. Self-employed parties create a challenge for determination of gross income. Tax records and bank statements are usually utilized to come up with an average figure for income.  However, depending on the circumstances of the self-employed individual, there may be disputes as to the party’s gross income.  If a parent is voluntarily underemployed, the Court can base income on potential income, subject to certain restrictions.  There is some complexity around certain sources of income such as stock options, deferred compensation, trust income and in-kind payments such as use of company cars. Support paid to another child of a previous relationship can reduce gross income. There are a multitude of issues that may affect the gross income of a party under certain circumstances.
2. Overnights with the Child(ren): The second number that is placed into the calculation is the number of overnights per year that each parent has with the child(ren).  If you are with your child all day but you return them to the other parent at night, that day does not go into the formula.  Only an overnight counts.  The more overnights you have, the less you will pay in child support and vice-versa. It is important to be realistic about overnights.  Child support is established based upon the parenting plan the parties reach. If one parent receives a parenting time arrangement (for instance 50/50) and does not actually care for the child during their parenting time, the other parent receives less in child support and is still caring for the child more than contemplated. This issue can be brought back to Court in a Motion to Modify Child Support and Parenting Time but it is far easier and less expensive to get it right the first time around.
3. Extraordinary and Ongoing Expenses: The third basic element to put into the child support formula includes any expenses that the child(ren) have on a regular basis.  This could include regular medical expenses or extracurricular activities.  Whoever is paying for medical insurance and/or child care can get credit for doing so in the formula. The formula generally shares these amounts in proportion to the parties’ gross income and credits the party accordingly.

These are the basic factors for determining child support. Circumstances change. A party can request a modification of the initial determination of child support if there is more than a 10% difference in the child support obligation due to a continuing change in circumstances. This post is intended to provide a very basic understanding of child support in Colorado. Each circumstance is different and must be reviewed accordingly. An experienced Denver family law attorney can help you estimate an appropriate child support calculation in your case.

If you have questions regarding child support, contact an attorney at Divorce Matters.

Posted by a Denver Divorce Attorney at Divorce Matters.