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How is child support calculated in Colorado?

On Behalf of | Sep 29, 2017 | Uncategorized |

Child support payments are not a penalty imposed on parents who do not have physical custody of their kids. In fact, child support payments are an opportunity for custodial and noncustodial parents alike to provide their kids with the support they require to thrive and live successful, happy lives in the wake of their parents’ separations and divorces. This post will generally discuss how child support is calculated in Colorado but readers are cautioned to seek their own legal advice on matters relating to their specific family law questions.

When courts establish child support figures for the families that appear in their chambers they begin by evaluating the gross incomes of the parents subject to the support determinations. Not all income is factored into a parent’s gross income calculation, and once the gross incomes of the parents are determined those sums are added together and from that total child support totals may be derived.

Consider a divorced couple with two children. Imagine that one of the parent’s gross income is $100,000 per year and the other parent’s gross income is $50,000 per year. Combined the parents make $150,00 per year and per the Colorado child support guidelines approximately 30 percent or $45,000 of that total should be directed to child support for the two kids from the parents’ incomes.

It is unlikely that a court will split the $45,000 sum down the middle but rather may consider the relative financial strength of each parent and then divide the payment schedule accordingly. A court may also consider a child’s independent financial health as well as the standard of living the child enjoyed before their parents separated or divorce. Other factors can influence child support determinations and for this reason independent investigations into how readers’ child support cases will be finalized should be pursued with the help of family law attorneys.