How Does the Court in Utah Calculate Child Support?
Just because you are getting a divorce doesn’t mean that you need to forget about paying for the upbringing of your children. Child support is mandatory for both parents of minor children in Utah. Of course, if this child becomes emancipated, you are under no obligation to pay support any longer. If your children are over 18 and still need support because they are in some way disabled, you may be paying a bit longer than you thought you would be.
It all depends on your and your child’s circumstances. The order could come out of the juvenile court system or the district court. Sometimes, but not often, an administrative order can come from the Utah Office of Recovery Services.
In order to calculate child support the court uses the three concepts:
- Base child support
- Medical care
- Child care expenses
The judge will use a table to determine how much is obligated to be paid and this amount will be shared by both parents. The non-custodial parent will pay the custodial parent a portion of his or her income at an interval to be determined by the court. Health insurance needs to be provided and, if it is available, it will need to be taken care of by one of you. Co-payments will also be a part of this component.
The child support order will tell you which one of you gets to claim the child as a dependent on your state and federal income taxes. If you can agree on this, all the better. If not, the court will step in and do it for you.
You may need the help of attorney who can give you divorce advice on these complicated legal matters.
Source: Utah Courts, “Child support,” accessed Jan. 26, 2016
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