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One of the most difficult pills to swallow following a divorce is child support payment. While determined in court, it can be difficult to understand how they’re calculated. It varies from state to state and factors in plenty of needs and financial availability. Attorneys at Guillien Van Nuland LLC in La Crosse, WI, have seen it play out many ways and can offer effective legal guidance regarding child custody payment determination.

Whether you’re the recipient or the payer, it’s important to know how child support payments are calculated. Here are three of the primary factors courts consider:

  • child support The Quality of Life: Based on what is described at a court hearing, a judge will assess the child and parent’s quality of life, not simply going forward, but as it was before the legal separation. While the quality of life can be vague, it’s based on the financial portrait you and your former spouse provide detailing life prior to a divorce. Based on your income, courts aim to maintain that quality of life, although the difficulty the payer has with supporting their life and another’s is understandable.
  • The Child’s Needs: Depending on the child’s age, many factors can define their needs. While the child support payment isn’t intended to cover it all, it is meant to contribute to health insurance or medical bills, day care and school expenses, and other necessary “big picture” spending. If the child’s parent already has a new spouse, this will decrease the amount you’re required to pay.
  • The Parent’s Ability to Pay: The parent granted child custody has, in many cases, proven their ability to support themselves and their child financially. However, decreases in income or hardship are considerations when calculating child custody payments, so anticipate your former spouse’s employment and finances to be a factor. This, again, depends on the child’s age and if the spouse has a new partner. 

Whether you’re responsible for paying child support or feel you aren’t receiving a fair amount, contact an attorney at Guillien Van Nuland LLC. They have extensive experience with child support and divorce-related cases and will work with you on a personal level to achieve a positive outcome. Call (608) 782-4411 to schedule a consultation, and visit the website to learn more about their practice.

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