Calculating Child Support in Gastonia

Calculating child support in Gastonia sets the stage for your children’s ongoing health and well-being, and a seasoned child support lawyer can help.

Calculating child support is an important factor in every divorce involving children, as well as in child support modifications and child custody cases outside of divorce. The matter of child support will play an important role in your children’s lives as they navigate splitting their time between you and their other parent.

Your parental and financial rights are key. This fact highlights the importance of working closely with an experienced Gastonia child support attorney at the Law Offices of Regina M. Taylor, P.C.

The Income Shares Models

Child support follows the income shares model, which considers all of the following factors:

• The combined gross income of both parents
• The number of children addressed in the child support order
• The child custody arrangements, including the number of overnights each parent receives
• The cost of relevant expenses and who pays them, such as the children’s health insurance coverage, childcare, and any extraordinary costs experienced

The Calculation Process

To begin, your gross income is added to your former spouse’s. Gross income refers to the total amount you are paid before deductions, which is higher than your take-home pay. The state’s calculation process accounts for average deductions, which is why gross income is used.

At this point, each parent’s percentage of the total shared income is calculated, which represents their share of the child support obligation. For practical purposes, the parent who pays child support is generally the higher earner, and the amount owed is offset by the amount assigned to the other parent.

In Gastonia, child support is calculated based on the shared income total, and each parent owes their assigned percentage of that amount. Extra expenses are factored in at this stage, which, depending on who pays what, could directly affect the child support obligation. Calculating child support in North Carolina is legally challenging, but a seasoned Gastonia child support lawyer could help you navigate the process.

The Number of Overnights

Generally, the higher earner has the child support obligation because they bear a larger percentage of the shared income calculation. However, the number of overnights each parent has with the children could have a significant impact on the child support amount.

When one parent assumes the primary parental role, the parent with the visitation schedule typically pays child support. However, the total number of overnights the paying parent has with the children could play an important role in how the payment is calculated.

Your child support attorney will factor in everything applicable to your case.

Important Considerations for Calculating Child Support

Important factors your child support lawyer could consider when calculating support include:

• When one parent is in the primary parental role, the other parent generally makes child support payments because the expenses covered by the primary parent offset their financial obligation
• When parents split overnights with the children equally or nearly equally, child support can potentially be greatly reduced or even zeroed out if the parents earn similar incomes and cover similar expenses
• Generally, the higher earner makes the child support payments, and the larger the earning discrepancy, the larger the child support obligation.
• For couples with very significant earnings, the court calculates child support in accordance with the unique circumstances involved

Calculate Your Child Support With the Help of a Gastonia Attorney

Calculating child support in Gastonia is a complicated legal matter. A trusted Gastonia child support attorney at the Law Offices of Regina M. Taylor, P.C., is well prepared to unleash the full force of our imposing experience in pursuit of favorable terms for you. Learn more by contacting us today.