Let us help you understand how child support works in The State of Michigan. Child support can be confusing and difficult, and Goldman and Associates want to give you the best outcome possible. Read this blog to learn more about child support and give our office a call if you have any more questions. Here are the different types of child support in Michigan. Generally, both parents equally share a duty to support their children. In Michigan, courts look at several factors in determining the amount of support to award, including the parents’ financial resources; family size; ages of the children; child care and educational expenses; health coverage costs and medical/dental expenses; and other criteria such as adjustments for other support orders, additional familial obligations and the presence of step-children. Oftentimes, parents struggling with a support matter are told that Michigan’s guidelines are specific and absolute, and there is nothing they can do about it.
What Is An Income Shared Model?
Under such a model, the intent is that the child should receive the same portion of the parental income that they would have received if the two parents had stayed married. This figure is arrived at by pooling the income of both parents and then assessing what portion of that would have been spent on the child. It is presumed that the custodial parent will spend their portion of that amount by themselves, so the non -custodial parent (paying) parent will only have to pay their portion.
What Is A Percentage Of Income Model?
This model defines the support obligation as a set percentage of the paying parent’s income. The income of the non-paying custodial parent is never taken into account. There are two variants of this: flat percentage and varying percentage. A flat percentage assesses the same percentage regardless of how high the paying parent’s income is. A varying percentage model will assume that as income grows, that proportionally less of their income will be spent on child care expenses while married. As such the percentage of income that is assessed for child care payments will reduce as income grows.
What Is The Melson Formula?
The Melson formula is a slightly more complex version of the income shares model. It takes into account several policy judgments in order to ensure that a child’s basic needs are met. To start with, the paying parent is allowed to retain enough of their income to meet their own basic needs. After that, the paying parent is not permitted to keep any more of their income for themselves until the needs of all of their children are met. Even after the material needs of all dependents are met, those same dependents are still entitled to a percentage of any additional income so that they may benefit from the non -custodial parent’s higher standard of living.
Conclusion
Aside from having the same overall goal to ensure children receive the same amount of support they would have received had their parents remained married, most (if not all) child support models have a few things in common.
For starters, most models have a “self-support reserve” that ensures that the paying parent will always be able to provide for their own basic needs. All models take imputed income into account. Imputed income is money saved because the person in question doesn’t have to pay for a service that they are providing themselves. All models also take healthcare expenses into account. If you need more information on Divorce and Child Support in The State of Michigan contact Goldman and Associates Law Firm. At Goldman and Associates, our attorneys are experts in family law and they will thoroughly examine all aspects of your divorce. With the best lawyers in Michigan, Goldman and Associates takes each and every case very seriously and gives you the outcome you desire.
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