Child Support
Overview
Denver Child Support Lawyers
In Colorado, child support is based on strict guidelines dictated by state laws and statutes. The issue of child support is separate and distinct from the issue of parenting time, and child support payments may not be conditioned upon parenting time.
The first step in determining the child support formula for your case is to establish both parents’ gross monthly income, before taxes and deductions. Next, the formula takes into consideration how much time the children spend with each parent, measured by the number of overnights each parent has with the children. Generally, the parent without primary custody will pay child support to the other. However, if the parent with primary child custody has significantly higher earnings, the parent without primary custody may receive child support. Calculating this formula may sound complicated, but our team of experienced attorneys at Divorce Matters® can help you with any questions surrounding child support you may have.
In addition to child support based on income, parents must also share costs for expenses based in proportion to their income, such as medical insurance, health care, day care, schooling, and extra-curriculum activities. There are also situations that may require deviation from the child support guidelines. Most commonly, these include cases involving high-income earners; the guidelines were not written to address high incomes, so deviation is necessary.
For additional information regarding how child support is calculated, you can check out our blog post “How is Child Support Calculated” or call one of our family law attorneys today.
If you know your financial information and the financial information of the other party, you can approximate how much your monthly child support payments should be by using our Child Support Calculator App.