Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [89]
Direct Payment ........................................................................................................................ 212
Wage Garnishment ................................................................................................................ 213
Using Your State Child Support Enforcement Agency ....................................... 214
If You're the Recipient: Enforcing Child Support Orders ................................. 215
While Your Divorce Is Pending ........................................................................................218
Once You Have a Court Order ........................................................................................218
If You're the Paying Spouse ..................................................................................................218
How Long Support Lasts ........................................................................................................220
College Expenses ..................................................................................................................... 221
If Circumstances Change ....................................................................................................... 222
Taxes and Your Children ........................................................................................................224
Tax Basics .................................................................................................................................... 224
Exemptions for Dependents ............................................................................................. 224
Head of Household Status .................................................................................................225
Tax Credits ..................................................................................................................................226
Health Insurance .........................................................................................................................227
11 parents must support their children, whether or not the parents are married. Both you and your spouse are responsible for giving your kids all the necessities of life until they become legal adults. This chapter explains what that means and helps you figure out whether one of you will pay child support to the other and, if so, how much. You'll also learn how long support lasts, what the tax implications are, and more. This chapter covers only child support. Spousal support (alimony) is covered in Chapter 11.
Who Pays Support?
Which parent makes support payments to the other depends a lot on where the kids spend their time. If one parent is the custodial parent, then the other parent almost always is required to pay child support. The reasoning is that both parents are responsible for supporting the kids, and if the kids live with one parent most of the time, chances are that custodial parent will need some help paying for the housing, food, clothing, and everything else the kids need.
However, it's not completely unheard of for a parent with primary custody to pay child support to the other parent. If the custodial parent's income is significantly higher than the other's parent's, the noncustodial parent may receive support based on the amount of time spent with the children.
If you and your spouse share custody 50-50 and there's a big income disparity between you, the higher-earning spouse usually pays child support to the lower-earning spouse even though you're each caring for the children half the time.
If you're the parent receiving support, make sure you use it for the kids. Given that most custodial parents are women and that statistically, women often suffer major financial downturns after a divorce, it's unlikely that you're using your support to get pedicures or buy yourself a little something. But just in case you were considering it, remember that child support is for your kids' living expenses, not for anything that doesn't benefit them directly. That doesn't