Craig Zotter & Associates

Child Support

Both parents have a legal duty to support their child according to their ability to do so. Since 1990, Pennsylvania has had child support guidelines in effect, which provide a formula for calculating child support based on each parent's gross income. These guidelines are applied unless a party can show that application of the guidelines would be unjust and inappropriate in a particular case.

Deviation from the child support guidelines may also occur.  Reasons for a deviation include extra-curricular activities expenses, child care expenses, private school tuition for the children, unreimbursed medical expenses, and more.  Generally, child support can be modified after six months and/or a change of circumstances to one of the party's income or to the above expenses.

A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed may be held to a higher earning capacity and thus have a higher net income resulting in more child support being paid.

Self-employed individuals may have more difficulty determining their net income.  A 'complex' hearing, which allows for discovery of a parties income, may be in order.

Just as courts must often make the crucial decision as to child custody and visitation, so too must it often determine how much child support the noncustodial parent will be ordered to pay. There are several pertinent considerations that the court will take into account when deciding the issue of child support, whether in a divorce or a paternity case, such as:

The Needs of the Children. For example, a sickly or developmentally disabled child will often require a higher level of support than a healthy child.

The Age of the Children. Infants and younger children often cost less to support than older children.

The Ability of the Noncustodial Parent to Pay. The court is limited in awarding child support by the ability of a parent to pay based on income from all sources, often including a new spouse's earnings.

The Earning Capacity of the Custodial Parent. Both parents have the duty to support their children, not just the paying parent. Thus, the earnings or earning capacity of the custodial parent which are available to provide support for the children, and perhaps that of their new spouse, will also be considered when determining child support levels.