If you are seeking child support here in Dorchester County, SC, contact a child support lawyer to make sure that the calculations are done accurately and you receive all the support you need for the good of your child and family. If you’re being asked to give support in excess of what you’re able to provide, a qualified lawyer can help you show why the request requested support is inappropriate.Learn how child support is calculated in South Carolina, including income factors, custody arrangements, and special considerations—so you can pursue or challenge support with confidence.
South Carolina provides a calculator that allows parents to figure what their child support payments should be. The guidelines that the court follows assume that a child is entitled to the same proportion of their parents’ income after a divorce as they would’ve enjoyed if the parents continued to live together. To achieve this, the courts calculate support in reference to the parents’ gross income, taking into consideration who the child lives.
Both parents are required to make a financial declaration to the court of all income sources, not only from regular employment, but also from bonuses, commissions, pensions, or “passive income” such as from rental properties. The courts are also allowed to consider not just what the parents are actually earning at the moment, but what a parent is capable of earning. If the court believes that a parent could be earning more but is intentionally underemployed, it will order child support in reference to what it believes the parent could be earning.
At the same time, the courts do understand that the paying parent must maintain their own needs and will only require an amount that the parent can afford while still meeting their own basic needs.
Factors in Support Calculations
Who Has Custody?
The courts assume that a parent is paying for their child’s needs when they have the child in their custody. This means that the custodial parent is usually the one receiving support from the noncustodial parent, and, if custody is shared, then the burden of financial support may be shared as well. Support will be calculated in reference to what percentage of time the child spends with each parent, and part of the goal is to ensure that the child has a consistent experience no matter which parent they live with. In other words, even if one parent works, if that parent’s income is still substantially lower than that of the other parents, the court may order support so that the child has the same standard of living in both homes.
South Carolina has a calculator for determining parental support, but it also has a separate worksheet if you need to calculate your child support when you have shared custody. This worksheet only becomes applicable if a child is spending enough time each year with the noncustodial parent, but it’s always wise to speak with your lawyer about whether this worksheet will apply in your situation.
Are There Special Considerations?
The court will also consider special expenses that may apply to a particular family as it determines support. For example, one parent may work a job that offers free childcare. This would then be calculated into their support. If a parent’s job also provides health insurance for their children, this could be taken into account, and if a child has an unusual medical expense, this will also be taken into consideration.
The court is free to look at the entire situation of the family as it comes to a decision about support. If one parent is paying alimony, then this may affect the amount of child support. Or, it may not. If the paying parent has other children to provide for, this can also be taken into consideration. The court will also consider the health of the parents, and if either parent has a particular disability, this may impact child support in one way or another.
Other factors that the court may consider include debts that the parents hold, what kind of distribution of property was ordered if the parents got divorced, the educational expenses of the child, whether a family has more than six children, any travel expenses that one of the parents may incur to visit their child, taxes, whether any of the children earn money through having a job, and any mandatory deductions in a parent’s income, such as union fees.
Alimony
Alimony can influence child support, but it might not be in the way you imagine. Child support and alimony are two different things, and that means a parent may be required to pay both child support and alimony. Alimony is something owed to the former spouse; child support is something owed to the child, even if the other parent is the one receiving and using that money.
But if you already have an alimony or a child support order in place from a previous marriage or a previous child, South Carolina law protects those payments and orders. Whatever child support is ordered in a new case cannot make it so the paying parent becomes unable to meet prior obligations. That means any existing alimony or child support orders in place are deducted from the income of a parent before child support is calculated for a new situation.
Can Child Support Be Changed?
Circumstances may change, and child support can always be changed if there has been a change in the circumstances of either the child or the parents. Common reasons to change a child support order include loss of job by one of the parents or a new healthcare issue for either the parents or the child.
Ending Child Support
Child support can sometimes be ended if there has been a substantial change in the circumstances of one of the parents, but in most cases, child support will not end until a child either turns 18 or graduates from high school. Even after a child has graduated, there are occasions when the court will order child support to continue. This could be ordered if the child is disabled, for example, or if the child is continuing education in college and the court has ordered child support to continue as long as the child is pursuing a degree.
If you’re dealing with issues of child support, it’s always wise to work with a lawyer who has familiarity with South Carolina’s laws and with the local courts. A lawyer will be able to tell you what to expect, help you build a case to prove what you need in terms of child support or to dispute unfair demands for more support than you’re able to pay, and will represent you in negotiations with the other parent and in the courtroom. Issues of child support always have the potential to become contentious, and a lawyer can help you get through these contentious issues as smoothly as possible.
