May 4, 2023
How is child support determined?
The State of Connecticut provides the following summary of how the amount of a child support order is determined.
“The courts use mandatory guidelines to make fair and consistent child support orders.
- The Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines are state regulations which provide a mathematical formula to set the child support payment amount. The Guidelines use the combined income of the mother and the father and the number of children to set a child support amount.
- The court will also enter a medical insurance order for the minor children if it is available through an employer for a reasonable cost. The court may also order one or both parties to apply for, and maintain, medical coverage through the HUSKY PLAN. The guidelines also provide for the allocation of un-reimbursed medical costs between the parties.
- The guidelines also provide a mathematical formula for allocating qualified childcare costs between the parties.
- Judges and family support magistrates must follow the guidelines unless they make an exception in their ruling and tell you why they are ordering a different amount. These exceptions are called “deviations.“
- The amount of the child support order can change. Because child support payments are based on income, the support amount may change as the circumstances of the parents change.”
But many situations do not fall into the simple follow the Guidelines box. Whether a particular situation may qualify for a “deviation” isn’t always obvious. And creating a strategy that will convince a court to either grant or deny a requested deviation, depending on whether you are the paying or receiving parent, can be challenging. It is especially challenging for a parent who does not have an attorney working on their behalf.
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