Georgia’s child support guidelines changed dramatically on January 1, 2007.  The new guidelines use an income sharing approach, in which the incomes of both parents are considered to determine the amount of child support owed and have ended determinations of child support based exclusively upon the income of the non-custodial parent.

Initially, this calculation considers the gross monthly income of each parent.  For purposes of this calculation, an individual's gross monthly income may be increased or reduced as appropriate for several reasons including whether either parent is self-employed, the potential earning capacity of each spouse, and whether either party has been paying preexisting child support orders or is supporting other children who are not the subject of the present case.  The gross monthly incomes of both parents are then totaled to reach the combined adjusted income amount which is then used to find the Basic Child Support Obligation.

Once the Basic Child Support Obligation is determined, each parent’s gross income is divided by the combined adjusted income to get a pro rata share of financial responsibility.  For example, if a Husband’s gross income is $50,000.00 and the parties’ combined adjusted income is $100,000.00, then the Husband’s pro rata share is fifty percent (50%) of the parties’ combined adjusted income. This percentage is multiplied by the Basic Child Support Obligation to determine each parent’s child support responsibility and thus financial obligation of the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent for child support.  This amount is referred to as the presumptive amount of child support.

After making the presumptive child support determination, Georgia law provides for several adjustments to child support which are generally referred to as deviation factors.  Examples of various deviation factors include adjustments for:

• Health insurance premiums
• Work related child care costs
• Extraordinary high or low incomes
• Other health related insurance (such as dental and vision care)
• Life Insurance
• Child and dependent care tax credit
• Travel expenses for visitation
• Extraordinary expenses
• Parenting time
• Alimony
• Mortgage

Several of these factors are up to the judge’s discretion as to whether to award a deviation upward or downward from the Presumptive Amount of Child Support for the best interests of the child.  Thus, working with a divorce lawyer can greatly aid in the analysis of what a judge would award in child support.  The divorce attorneys at Meriwether & Tharp have spent a substantial amount of time analyzing each of these factors and have the experience you need to help guide you through the process of this analysis.