Raising a child today is expensive. In addition to every day expenses like day care, clothes and groceries, there are expenses for health insurance, medical and dental care, school, sports and extracurricular activities. Colorado courts will always look to the best interests of the child when making decisions regarding child support. But parents also have rights under Colorado law, and it is important that divorced and single parents understand those rights.
Colorado sets child support based on the monthly gross income of both parents. The court also considers the number of overnight stays the child has with each parent every month, as well as which parent is paying for health insurance and day care.
Calculating a parent’s gross monthly income is not particularly complex when the parent is employed full time and receives a W-2 every year. But for self-employed parents whose income fluctuates every month, establishing a monthly gross income for child support purposes can require professional help. Stay-at-home parents, especially those with children over the age of two and a half, should be aware that in some circumstances the court will impute to them the income the court assumes they could earn outside the home.
Knowing one’s legal rights as a parent is important. At my Longmont, Colorado law firm I have been helping parents with child support issues for over ten years. For more information on how I can help parents who are seeking child support as well as parents who are obligated to pay, please see my web page.
