Can child support be determined based on parenting time? Child support is calculated in Michigan using a formula. The court may occasionally deviate from the formula if there are compelling circumstances. The assessment must be accurate for the formula to provide an accurate amount.
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The assessment for child support is based on the earnings of the mother and father. Data on the number of children and overnights spent by each parent are also included. To get the adequate amount to sustain the children’s needs, data should be complete and accurate.
How is child support determined?
A parent must pay child support as per a court judgment in order to contribute to the cost of maintaining a child. When a child turns 18, child support typically ends. However, a judge may award assistance for a child between the ages of 18 and 19 1/2 if the child is:
[ a ] a full-time student in high school,
[ b ] has a realistic hope of graduating, and
[ c ] a full-time residence with the parent receiving child support or in an institution
Child support often consists of a base amount as well as additional payments for things like health care and child care. Orders for child support may be made in:
[ a ] Custody or paternity case (if the parents were never married)
[ b ] A divorce case
[ c ] A support case.
The amount of child support is paid for by a non-custodial parent. The amount of child support is determined by the Michigan child support formula or MCSF. The amount of child support is based on the number of children, the earnings of parents, and the child custody arrangement.
The Michigan child support formula should be seen only as a guideline. The Court may deviate from it if it determines that doing so would be in the child’s best interests.
The parent who pays child support is the “payer,” and the person who receives it is the “payee.” If the payee or the child receives public assistance, the state may receive the child support payments instead of the payee.
What is the Michigan Child Support Formula?
The use of the Michigan Child Support Formula or MCSF is embodied in the Michigan Child Support Formula Manual published by the Friend of the Court Bureau under the State Court Administrative Office in Lansing, Michigan. The latest version of the manual was published in 2021.
The 2021 Michigan Child Support Formula has five sections. The manual gives a background of child support in the state of Michigan under the statewide child support guidelines in the first section. Guidelines for determining income are in section 2. Calculating each parent’s obligation in child support is in section 3. Other factors included in child support are found in section 4. Section 5 is the supplement section of additional information regarding MCSF.
The Income Shares Model serves as the foundation for the Michigan child support formula. The amount is first estimated using the percentage of the total income of both parents. The court currently uses software for calculating the amount of child support. They are currently using the Michigan State Disbursement Unit’s Children’s Economic Tool (CET). It is a piece of software that, like in most states, is used to calculate child support in Michigan.
You must also know the cost of the child’s medical and child care. With this information, the CET will calculate the amount of child support owed by each parent.
The term “net income” in the MCSF means all income minus the deductions and adjustments permitted by the manual. The “net income” of a parent that is used to determine support is different from their take-home pay. It is also not the net taxable income or similar terms that describe income for other purposes.
The objective of determining net income is to establish how much money a parent should have available for support. All relevant characteristics of a parent’s financial position are open for consideration when assessing child support. The courts will also estimate potential income. Income also comprises the potential income that a parent could generate. It is subject to a parent’s actual ability, whether that parent has an unexercised ability to earn or is intentionally unemployed, underemployed, or has that ability but has not used it. Incarceration should not be understood as choosing to be unemployed.
What expenses are covered by child support?
Child support obligations or expenses consist of the following:
[ a ] A base support obligation adjusted for parenting time.
[ b ] Medical support obligations that include ordinary and additional (extra-ordinary) medical expenses, health care coverage, and division of premiums.
[ c ] Child care expense obligations.
What is the base support obligation in child support?
The base support amount takes into account two things. The number of overnights spent with children and the parent’s net earnings. The total number of children-in-common is used to calculate base support in order to even out payments for children of the same parents, whether ordered in a single case or several instances.
When less than all of the children-in-common are included, the basic support and parental time offset are calculated as the per-child portion of what would otherwise be due if all of the children-in-common were included.
Calculate the base support for the children in a parent’s custody separately from the base support for the children who reside with a nonparent-custodian when some of the children in common are in that person’s care.
What are medical support obligations?
The phrase “medical” refers to procedures, supplies, tools, medications, preventative care, and similar services and products connected to oral, visual, psychological, medical, and other related care given to or recommended for children by healthcare experts.
Medical support comprises coverage for health care and sharing of premium costs. It also includes regular and supplementary medical costs. Bills for uninsured medical costs like co-pays and deductibles are ordinary medical expenses. Expenses incurred through parental care are not included in regular medical costs. These are expenses for first aid supplies and over-the-counter medications.
Currently, one child’s annual medical costs average $454. There are also uninsured charges beyond the cap on typical medical expenses per year. These are referred to as additional medical costs. In the UCSO, these extra costs are referred to as uninsured health care expenses. Typically, a portion of the additional medical costs is ordered to be paid by each parent based on their income.
One parent must furnish the child with health insurance. This can be defined in a court decision. Coverage could be private insurance offered as a perk of a job. Or obtained in another way from the spouse or household member of the parent. It may also occasionally be public insurance like Medicaid or MIChild. The parent who should provide coverage will be determined by the court. Elements from the MCSF Manual can help decide which parent.
What are child care expense obligations?
Child care support is the actual costs parents have established in child care routines. It can show they have actual, predictable, and reasonable child care expenses. An amount allocated to cover the real child care costs for the children. The amount is based on each parent’s percentage share of the household income. This amount allows a parent or nonparent-custodian to search for work or keep their job. It can also be used to enroll in an educational program to increase employment prospects.
Child care support obligations are calculated on the presumption of continuing net expenses. These net expenses are used to determine the existing child support order. Custodians and parents must inform one another of changes in costs. Parents must also inform the Friends of the Court when they stop paying for a child’s care expenses.
The court can order a reasonable amount for future child care costs. These are for cases where parents or custodians do not have a consistent pattern of child care costs. This decision is subject to the support recipient providing the other parent, and the Friend of the Court the following:
[ 1 ] documentation of the recipient’s job or participation in an acceptable training or educational program,
[ 2 ] documentation of the recipient’s real out-of-pocket child care costs,
[ 3 ] a written request for the conditional child care provision’s implementation was sent to the Friend of the Court;
[ 4 ] evidence that copies of items 1 through 3 were given to the support payer.
The thing to keep in mind is that the MCSF calculates an amount representing the minimum child support. It does not promise to cover all the expenses needed to raise a child. In most cases, the calculations cannot be used “as-is”.
A parent can work, attend school, or search for employment. Child care expense obligations provide support to pay for child care costs for children up to the age of 12. The judge will divide these costs fairly based on the parent’s income.
In their parenting plan, parents might discuss other child support issues. For instance, they could determine how to pay for travel. They discuss covering the costs of special programs, field trips, and other supplemental costs. Some Michigan divorced parents arrange to split the cost of their children’s college education.
Do I still need to pay child support if I have no parenting time?
Parenting time is one of the elements considered in calculating child support. It is not the basis to pay or not pay for child support. Child support and parenting time are independent considerations. Both contribute to your child’s best interests. They are not mutually exclusive. You need both to serve the best interest of your children.
Child support ensures both parents provide for the financial needs of their children. Child support orders are required in every custody case. It’s part of a court order unless support has already been resolved in a related matter.
Although parenting time is factored in determining child support, it is not linked to the obligation to pay child support. Parenting time or overnights is one of many factors in calculating child support. It is not the sole basis for determining child support. You are still obligated to pay child support being a parent of your children even if you don’t have parenting time. If you don’t opt for your right to parenting time, you will most likely pay a higher amount in child support.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.