# How do you feel child support should be calculated? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319 "2002-04-18T14:44:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/1 "2002-04-18T14:44:54Z")
Hi Everyone, I am new to this board, but I am doing a little study on child support. I would invite each of you to cut and paste my questions, giving yes or no or short answers to each. Comments are welcome at the end, but I’d like to be able to gather the answers as easily as possible. I am posting this on several forums, and I will report back my findings once they are all gathered. Thanks! Niki 1 - If one parent was SAHP (stay at home parent) before divorce should that remain the same and cs compensate for it? 2 - If answer to 1 is YES, should cs compensate for a certain amount of time only? 3 - Should custodial parents income be a factor in cs calculation? 4 - Should non-custodial parents income be a factor in cs calculation? 5 - Should step parent (custodial or non-custodial) income be a factor in cs calculation? 6 - Should cs calculation be reviewed periodically? If so, how often? 7 - Should other children that non-custodial parent supports be a factor? 8 - Should children born to non-custodial parent after divorce be a factor in calculating cs? 9 - Should children born to custoidal parent after divorce be a factor in calculating cs? 10 - If a custoidal parent is financially comfortable, should non-custodial parent pay less child support, or no child support at all? 11 - Should non-custodial parent pay child support and provide medical insurance as well as 1/2 of out of pocket medical costs? 12 - Should custodial parent be required to justify how child support money is spent? 13 - Should child support be based on 1/2 of the actual annual cost of raising child(ren), with the totals being calculated and payments adjusted at the end of each year? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/2 "2002-04-18T15:24:43Z")
Wow, thats a lot of questions. I read Child Support Made Simple, & it answers all your questions well, & I agree with the book. This is assuming you are talking about the US. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/3 "2002-04-18T15:27:00Z")
Mea cupla, I mean: “Child Custody Made Simple : Understanding the Law of Child Custody and Child Support by Webster Watnik” 457 pages. Well written. I agree with doing what the law says. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/4 "2002-04-18T15:30:16Z")
14 - Should IMHO questions be posted in IMHO, or GQ? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/5 "2002-04-18T15:31:54Z")
General Questions is for questions that have factual answers. In My Humble Opinion is for opinions and polls. I’ll move this to IMHO for you. **DrMatrix** - General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/6 "2002-04-18T22:01:32Z")
1 - If one parent was SAHP (stay at home parent) before divorce should that remain the same and cs compensate for it? - Do you mean should CS should support _both_ the SAHP _and_ the child? If so, absolutely not. 2 - If answer to 1 is YES, should cs compensate for a certain amount of time only? - 3 - Should custodial parents income be a factor in cs calculation? - Without question. There is no logical rason the custodial parent’s income should _not_ be taken into account. 4 - Should non-custodial parents income be a factor in cs calculation? - Same answer. That is, unless and until an equitable system of actual cost allocation can be determined. 5 - Should step parent (custodial or non-custodial) income be a factor in cs calculation? - Ditto. You simply should not ignore the fact that the step-parent contributes to the equation. To do so is morally dishonest. 6 - Should cs calculation be reviewed periodically? If so, how often? - Yearly. Based on tax returns. 7 - Should other children that non-custodial parent supports be a factor? - Yes. 8 - Should children born to non-custodial parent after divorce be a factor in calculating cs? - Yes. 9 - Should children born to custodial parent after divorce be a factor in calculating cs? - Yes. 10 - If a custoidal parent is financially comfortable, should non-custodial parent pay less child support, or no child support at all? - Yes, the non-custodial parent shouldn’t be obligated to pay an amount that amounts to a significant portion of his/her income when the custodial parent doesn’t need it. To force a NC parent to pay when it’s not needed isn’t enforcing child support, it’s punitive. 11 - Should non-custodial parent pay child support and provide medical insurance as well as 1/2 of out of pocket medical costs? - That depends on who carries the medical coverage, but roughly 50/50, yes, but also depending on income. 12 - Should custodial parent be required to justify how child support money is spent? If it becomes obvious that the money is being wasted or the child is being financially neglected, then yes. Otherwise, no. 13 - Should child support be based on 1/2 of the actual annual cost of raising child(ren), with the totals being calculated and payments adjusted at the end of each year? - I doubt that this could ever happen because it would require judges/case workers/social workers to actually _think_ rather than apply a simple formula and be done with it. And, I don’t think that most parents would want to go through the rigamarole of keeping every receipt from McDonald’s, the movies, or the children’s petting zoo. Actually, I believe that the concept of custodial/noncustodial parent should be done away with. Instead, I’d specify times/days/weeks when the children must be made available by one ex- to the other, and then leave some times open. The closer the amount of time that the children spends with each parent gets to 50%, the lesser the degree of CS. This might encourage a greater degree of participation in the child’s life by _both_ parents. Notes and thoughts on child support: CS should also be adjusted for the age of the child. A 9-month old has different needs than a 15-year old. If a non-custodial parent incurs reasonable expenses for the child for items/necessities that should’ve been provided by the custodial parent, those costs should be deductible from future support. If, after a certain time, the non-custodial parent has established a pattern of always being available, on-time for pick up/drop off, responsible, reliable, and _participative_–and it’s shown that she/he is indeed a large part of the child’s life–_and_ the child is actually spending a significant portion of the time with the NC parant, then sole custody should be moved toward a “semi-joint” and then joint custody upon a petition from the NC parent. (As you might guess, this would pertain to me. 🙂 ) A child’s extra-curricular activities should be the sole responsibility of the parent that signs the child up for them, as in karate classes, tuba lessons, peewee hockey, etc. (Believe me, this _isn’t_ already the case.) On a related note…if one parent signs the child up for any activity that interferes with the other parent’s time (without the 2nd parent’s consent), the first parent must relinquish an equivalent amount of time. ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/7 "2002-04-19T00:25:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nikki \* > **1 - If one parent was SAHP (stay at home parent) before divorce should that remain the same and cs compensate for it?** It depends. If the SAHP was at home because both parents desired it (ie. they thought having a SAHP would be beneficial for the kids), then yes. Otherwise no. > [@](#): > > \*\*2 - If answer to 1 is YES, should cs compensate for a certain amount of time only? \*\* As long as both parents still desire to have that set-up, then no, it should be for as long as there is a SAHP. > [@](#): > > \*\*3 - Should custodial parents income be a factor in cs calculation? \*\* Yes > [@](#): > > \*\*4 - Should non-custodial parents income be a factor in cs calculation? \*\* Yes > [@](#): > > \*\*5 - Should step parent (custodial or non-custodial) income be a factor in cs calculation? \*\* Yes > [@](#): > > \*\*6 - Should cs calculation be reviewed periodically? If so, how often? \*\* Yes. At least every two years. > [@](#): > > \*\*7 - Should other children that non-custodial parent supports be a factor? \*\* No > [@](#): > > \*\*8 - Should children born to non-custodial parent after divorce be a factor in calculating cs? \*\* No > [@](#): > > \*\*9 - Should children born to custoidal parent after divorce be a factor in calculating cs? \*\* No > [@](#): > > \*\*10 - If a custoidal parent is financially comfortable, should non-custodial parent pay less child support, or no child support at all? \*\* No > [@](#): > > \*\*11 - Should non-custodial parent pay child support and provide medical insurance as well as 1/2 of out of pocket medical costs? \*\* They should pay SOME, based on their income. > [@](#): > > \*\*12 - Should custodial parent be required to justify how child support money is spent? \*\* Yes > [@](#): > > \*\*13 - Should child support be based on 1/2 of the actual annual cost of raising child(ren), with the totals being calculated and payments adjusted at the end of each year? \*\* No. It should be calculated according to each parent’s income. ---
**Author:** ![Phlip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Phlip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlip)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/8 "2002-04-19T12:31:43Z")
I dont have time to answer all the questions, but I will say that I am in the middle of a divorce right now and CS seems to be really messed up. My girl will live with my Ex. My ex is in the USAF. She has 100% housing, medical, dental, SIGNIFICANTLY reduced daycare, and a food allowance. The way support is calculated in colorado, they take your incomes and decide what % each parent should pay towards support of the child. Example: I make $100 a month, she makes $50 dollars a month, so I should take on 60% of the financial burden. That is fine and dandy when you are talking about people who make 12K year or something, but we each make about 40K a year a piece, so my support obligation is 420 a month. That is 50% of what the state think it costs to raise my daughter. That means that my wife should be spending $840 a month on a 2 year old little girl!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: Aint happenin my friends, no way does it cost that much to take care of my girl even with daycare expenses. I still spend about 200 a month buyin her clothes and toys and stuff because I want to, not cause mom isnt. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-feel-child-support-should-be-calculated/104319/9 "2002-04-19T19:46:19Z")
Before any more questions are answered, I have a few _I’d_ like answered: 1. For what purpose is this information being gathered? 2. Is this information going to be published? 3. Is this some sort of homework assignment?