How is Child Support Calculated?
A parent's child
support obligation is calculated using Georgia's online Child Support Worksheet.
The monthly gross income of both parents is entered into the Child Support Worksheet and
the calculator determines the child support obligation of each parent according
to the total yearly income and the number of children supported. Usually, the
non-custodial parent pays child support to the parent who has primary custody
of the child(ren).
Child Support Adjustments
The basic child
support obligation may be altered by required Adjustments or discretionary Deviations.
The two required Adjustments, which must be taken into consideration by the
court when determining child support, are work related child care costs and the
cost of health insurance premiums.
Child Support Deviations
A discretionary
Deviation from the basic child support obligation, may be ordered by the Court
if the Deviation is found to be in the best interest of the child(ren) for whom
child support is being determined. These Deviations are: parenting time, high
income, low income, travel expenses, life insurance, extraordinary expenses,
camp and extracurricular activities, private school, mortgage, alimony, child
and dependent care tax credit, other health related insurance, and non-specific
deviations.
The parenting time Deviation adjusts child support upward or downward based upon the amount of
time a parent spends with the child(ren). This is one of the most common Deviations.
If the combined income
of both parents exceeds $30,000.00 per month, the Court may deviate Child Support
upward to account for the high income lifestyle. In the alternative, the Court
may choose to deviate child support downward if the paying parent has no
earning capacity or if paying child support would cause extreme financial
hardship for that parent.
Travel expenses may
be taken into account as a Deviation if court ordered visitation will incur
significant travel expenses. The Court may also order a child support Deviation
to account for the cost of life insurance, extracurricular activities, private
school, housing, alimony, tax credit, health related insurance (vision or
dental), or other expenses related to the child(ren).
Written by: Rebekah Ann James