How do you financially support your child after a divorce or separation between a husband and wife? The current state of affairs must be preserved at all costs. If a particular sum is combined to cover the children’s expenses, then that amount should be maintained. You must promptly file a motion to maintain the status quo and pay the bills if one of the providers of these monies for whatever reason decides not to contribute to the pool.
Click here to watch the video on How To Financially Support Your Child After Separation In Michigan?
If you wait far too long to ask for relief or submit a request, the court might assume the status quo and make its decision based on that. Have your attorney file a motion to maintain both parents’ contributions to paying such expenses.
The problem with child support calculators out there is that it doesn’t have an app converting the 12 factors to determine the best interest of the child into dollars. Most of these calculators are intended to just give you the bare essentials or the minimum expenses to be covered by child support.
There’s more to child support than just the obvious expenses.
What Expenses Are We Talking About Here?
A parent must pay child support as per a court judgment in order to help cover the cost of raising a child. The judge may make an order to start or amend child support up until the child is 18, or in some cases until the child turns 19 and a half years old.
You might ask to begin providing child support by submitting a motion in your ongoing family court case. If you don’t already have a family court case, you can start one on your own or ask for child support services to do so. Several modifications can be made to a child support order.
What expenses and in what proportionate amounts are determined by a formula or a guideline-mandated by the Michigan Friend of the Court Act of 1982.
After significant research and with the assistance of economists, a group made up of family law attorneys, psychologists, public health officials, and members of the general public devised Michigan’s child support formula. The formula took effect in 1984.
The phrase “guidelines” for child support is much more common than the formal name of the document, the Michigan Child Support Formula, or MCSF.
The federal rules are updated every four years, and the State Court Administrative Office of Michigan announced the most current revision to Michigan’s child support formula on January 1, 2021.
The Michigan Supreme Court, which issues the guidelines, receives proposals from a group which meets on a regular basis.
The regulations provide that parents are required to pay for a child’s basic needs (called base support), medical care, and child care expenses.
The three primary factors used to calculate child support are the income of the paying parent, the income of the payee parent, and the number of overnights of parenting time.
According to the MCSF, daycare expenses are split up based on the parties’ respective salaries. The payee’s job or school schedule must require child care in order for the court to order the payer to pay for it.
Child support includes the expense of extracurricular activities as well. However, many parties often split the cost of these expenses in addition to the amount of child support when the activities and prices are agreed upon by both parties.
Who Will Actually Pay For These Expenses?
Before the divorce, we presume both parents to be shouldering the costs of raising the children. After divorce, we presume differently since we see both parents living separate lives and depending on who gets custody of kids, the expenses may be different and slightly higher. It’s different because spending patterns will change after separation. It is higher at least for the non-custodial spouse because there are now two households to worry about.
If the court awards joint custody, you might worry about having to keep paying child support. Child support payments are dependent on a number of factors, including your income, the amount of time each parent spends with the children, and the cost of raising the children.
The non-custodial parent often pays child support to help cover part of the costs of raising the child. These expenses may involve the cost of shelter, clothing, and food. Additionally, expenses for things like healthcare, transportation, and education are covered through child support.
If the parents share custody, these expenses must be divided equally. This suggests that the expense of raising a child is shared by both parents. Even if you make more money or have fewer costs than the other parent, you may still be required to pay child support.
If your child spends less than half of the time with you, you must pay child support. In general, if a child resides with one parent for more than 50% of the time, the other parent is not required to pay child support.
In a shared custody arrangement with 50/50 custody, child support calculations will look at each parent’s income to determine who will be responsible for paying child support and how much they will pay.
How Is Child Support Going To Get Paid?
Most often child support payments are made through the Friend of the Court. You have an option to pay directly to the custodial parent.
The child support formula already defines the support commitments shared by both parents:
[1] Contributions for a child’s expenses from a paying parent will be established in a support order.
[2] A parent receiving the child support amount is presumed to contribute directly to a child’s support.
In summing up calculations, support amounts are to be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
In Michigan, parties that choose to pay child support directly can “opt out” of the Friend of the Court program. However, the choice is all or nothing. By choosing to “opt out,” the parties are giving up the right to use any FOC services for any reason. So if they have disagreements over child support, parenting time, or custody, they won’t have any recourse.
To “opt in” to the FOC, the parties may at any time ask the court to do so. Some judges, though, will not consider any cases that came up during the “opt out” period. It is best to “opt out” only if the kids are in high school and there is minimal likelihood that FOC services will be needed.
It is common for the parties to pay their separate portions of the cost directly to the child care provider, but the cost of child care is also typically included in the amount the payer pays through Michigan State Disbursement Unit, or MiSDU.
Thanks to the ease of use and accessibility of internet banking, the days of mailing checks to and from the Friend of the Court are a thing of the past. According to federal law, child support must be managed by a statewide system. Consequently, Michigan created the Michigan State Disbursement Unit, or MiSDU.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel today for more advice on Family Law!
Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.