Child support for dummies and for smart people who need help

Nevada, child support is pretty much set in stone, except for a few court-allowed deviations. You never have to scratch your head too much on how much child support has to be paid.

Essentially, it goes like this:

• 18% of your gross income for child support for 1 child
• 25% of your gross income for 2 children
• 29% of your gross income for 3 children
• and 2% more of your gross income for each additional child if you have more than 3 children.

Child support is paid to the primary physical custodian from the other parent’s wages, salary or other income.

However, if the parties have a 40/60, 60/40 or 50/50 time share of physical custody, then the Court will take a look at both parents’ incomes and figure out child support as follows:

If one parent makes $2,000 a month and the other parent makes $4,000 a month and they have 2 children, then the parent who makes $2000 per month pays the other parent $500 per month, and the parent who makes $4000 per month pays the other parent $1,000 a month. The Court subtracts the lower amount from the higher amount so that the parent who makes $4000 per month pays to the parent who makes $2000 a month $500 a month in child support. Confusing?

The example below, which you can also find at http://nevadadivorce.org/divorce_with_children.html along with the deviations for child support, should help:

Aside from child support the parents must maintain medical insurance from the children. The custom and practice in Nevada is to divide any out of pocket medical deductibles, premiums, co-pays are non-covered items equally.

The parent who incurred the expense has 30 days to submit the medical provider’s bill to the other parent, who then has 30 days to pay his or her half share.

Facts you should note about child support:

• it is not tax deductible to the parent paying it.
• child support in Nevada is paid up to the time the child either graduates from high school at 18 or until the child has reached the age of 19 if the child has not graduated from high school.
• There is no legal obligation for a parent to pay for college, although the parties can contract for that in a child support agreement.
• The minimum amount of child support in Nevada is $100 a month per child
• The Court is able to deviate both upward and downward on the child support obligation but it’s discretion is limited, and the Court has to make specific findings for the deviation.
• Even if the parents make the same amount of money and share legal and physical custody equally, the Court still wants the amount of the child support obligation of each parent in the Decree of Divorce or Child Custody Agreement.

This is so that the District Attorney’s Child Support Agreement will have something to enforce in case one parent leaves the children with the other parent full-time and does not start to make child support payments.

• Child support is reviewed at least every 3 years. If there is an increase in income of more than 20% or a decrease in income of more than 20%,  then child support can be reviewed at any other time.
• Willfully under-employment or unemployment is not eligible for a decrease in child support.
• Child support must be paid even when the spouse who has physical custody refuses to allow  child visitation.
• Being late 30 days will allow a wage garnishment on your wages or salary to occur.
• Additional remedies for non-payment of child support include seizing tax returns, suspending professional  and drivers’ licenses, denying issue of a passport and possible jail time.
• If a party gets re-married, has another child and get divorced again, child support to the first child will continue as is while additional child support to the second child will be ordered, though it will be modified due to the first obligation.

Author: Office of Attorney James E. Smith — http://nevadadivorce.org/about_nevada_divorce.htm