As promised, here’s a closer look at how Pennsylvania calculates child support.  So far, you know that child support is based off statutory guidelines, but how do they work?

The child support guidelines look at the portion of a household net income used for the benefit of the children of that household and then assigns a portion of that amount to each parent based on that parent’s contribution to the adjusted net household income.  Sounds complicated, right?  It really isn’t.  Let’s walk through an example.

Parent 1 and Parent 2 have two children together.  Parent 1 works a job earning $12.00/hour for 80 hours/paycheck and paid every other week.  Parent 2 earns $16.25/hour for 80 hours/paycheck and paid every other week.

 If Parent 1 and Parent 2 were an intact family, their adjusted net household income would be $1785.  Parent 1 earns 43% of the total adjusted net household income and Parent 2 earns 57%.

According to the Basic Child Support Schedule, a household with a combined adjusted net income of $1,750 would spend $614 for the benefit of its two children.  Parent 1 would be responsible for 43% of the $614; Parent 2 would be responsible for the remaining 57%.

The child support guidelines assume the parent who owes support has custody of the children 30% of the time.  Assuming Parent 1 has primary custody of the two children, Parent 2 would owe Parent 1 $349.98 in child support each month.

A few other things to remember:

First, an award of child support is retroactive, meaning the monthly support obligation is due back to the date of filing.  Keep that in mind if you are the obligor (i.e., the parent who will have to pay support).  It’s in your best interest to provide the information and have the amount calculated sooner rather than later to minimize the arrears due.

Second, child support is calculated on a household basis which considers the total number of children, but not on a per child basis.  Let’s assume you’re the obligor and have four children.  Your oldest graduates from high school, and you file to terminate the support of that child.  Your overall child support obligation will likely decrease but it will not decrease by 25%.  Why?  The formula assumes that the parent receiving the support will still have the same mortgage payment and monthly bills associated with a home for the remaining minor children and you’ll still be responsible for your percentage of the intact family figure.  Take another look at the chart above.  The difference between the monthly expenses for two and three children for an intact family is only $18.00, not 50%.

Lastly, a hearing officer may deviate from the statutory guidelines if the facts warrant it.  Do the parents have 50/50 custody?  Does one parent pay for medical insurance for the children out-of-pocket?  Does one parent pay for all the children’s daycare expenses or unpaid medical expenses?  Does one parent pay private school tuition?  The court may consider all these things and may deviate from the statutory child support amount.

*Disclaimer: this article is for informational purposes only. It is not providing legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship