Because the father's share of the monthly net income is 60%, the father pays 60% of the monthly child support amount. After a divorce in Pennsylvania, child support is determined by the type of custody plan the parents have. Usually, the non-custodial parent is required to pay child support to the custodial parent, but child support may also be necessary if the parents share custody. For example, if one parent has a higher income than the other, then they are expected to pay child support to the other parent.
A parent may be able to change the amount of child support when they experience a change in their living situation. For example, if the parent you support loses his job, suffers a sudden injury, or is going bankrupt, your lawyer may request that child support payments be stopped or reduced based on your new income. However, the opposite is also true. If a parent receives a salary increase and is better able to support a child, payments can be adjusted by both parties.
For example, if the custodial parent receives a promotion at work, then the amount of support they receive can be reduced. Or, if a non-custodial parent gets a new job that pays more, then they may have to pay more in support. Pennsylvania uses a child support guideline formula to determine how much parents should contribute financially to the care of their children. This means that, in cases where custody is shared, the amount of child support paid by the paying parent will be reduced according to the amount of time the child has custody.
To begin with, I want to go over a few things to keep in mind early on when thinking about how child support is calculated in Pennsylvania. While these may result in an adjustment to the basic child support obligation, the court will also sometimes hear arguments about the reasons for deviating from the calculation. But if the mother has primary custody and has a higher net income, she will pay the father's alimony, while the father pays child support. In the event that the mother has primary custody, but has a lower net income, alimony and child support will be paid to her.
We recommend following this PA child support calculator to get an idea of how much child support is expected per parent. Because of the high costs of one-time child care, Pennsylvania has specialized guidelines that consider child care costs separately from the general costs of raising a child in order to calculate child support payments. If the custodial parent pays for child care, the non-custodial parent must pay his share in addition to basic child support. This method of calculating child support is simple: a fixed percentage of the noncustodial parent's income is paid monthly to the custodial parent to cover basic child support expenses.
Follow the steps below or use the child support calculator above or the Pennsylvania child support calculator to calculate your child support payment Pennsylvania publishes a chart that basically corresponds to how much is the monthly net income combined with the number of children and gives you a number for basic child support. Child support is generally payable to the parent with primary custody of the children by the parent with partial custody of the children. If you and the other parent share custody equally, you have the same number of overnight stays in a given year, in which case the person with the highest income will pay child support to the person with the lowest income. Individuals facing child support proceedings are encouraged to obtain a consultation from an experienced Pennsylvania divorce lawyer.