Archive for 'Child Support'
How Does One Stop The Obligation To Pay Child Support In Alabama
Posted on 10. Jun, 2010 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Jim Jeffries.
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A Parent who has been previously ordered to pay child support is obligated to pay until the child’s 19th birthday. Unless there is a specific date in the divorce decree or subsequent order which states that the support can be terminated on that day, a person is technically obligated to pay support until the Judge issues an order terminating the support requirement. A person can be ordered to pay support past the child’s nineteenth birthday if the child is going to college and the parent has the financial ability to pay or if the child is a “special needs” child and is mentally or physically unable to provide for themselves once they reach the age of 19. Any action intended to get one parent to pay college support MUST be filed prior to the day of that particular child’s nineteenth birthday. If not filed by then, the court forever loses jurisdiction to order college support.
If there are multiple children who are receiving support pursuant to your current order and one has turned 19, that is a sufficient basis to modify the payor’s support. The new order will be recalculated based on the parties’ gross monthly incomes and other A.R.J.A. 32 factors existing at that time but will not include support for the child that recently turned 19.
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Is a Step Parent’s Income Included When Calculating Child Support?
Posted on 07. May, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
I am often asked whether a step-parent’s income is included for the purposes of calculating child support. The answer under Alabama law is “No.” In Alabama, child support is based on the gross monthly income of each of the parents. If one parent as remarried, that parent’s spouse’s income is NOT included when calculating child support.
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Summer Childcare Expenses
Posted on 04. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
Here is a link to an article by Laura Morgan that addresses the issue of how expenses for summer camp are treated in child support calculations by various states. Laura is a prolific author and researcher on divorce and family law issues. Her audience is generally lawyers and the cases she cites are not specific to Alabama law, but I offer it for those who may find it of interest.
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Computing Alabama Child Support Guidelines
Posted on 04. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
Here is a free interactive link to an online child support calculator. You can plug in your information and it will calculate the amount of child support that should be paid under these presumptively correct guidelines. In order to perform the calculation the primary information needed is each party’s current monthly gross income (including bonuses and overtime), the cost of any work related childcare, and the cost of health insurance premiums for the child(ren).
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Don’t inlcude employer paid health insurance in child support calculation
Posted on 04. Apr, 2009 by Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Michael Sherman.
A recent Alabama Court of Civil Appeals opinion held that where the custodial parent did not pay the health insurance premium herself, but rather her employer paid it entirely, the trial court should not have included the premium in calculating child support.