How Do They Determine How Much Child Support You Get? Child support is the most important thing to be considered in the separation of a marriage.
In the court, the judge ascertains these variables and calculates the child support for the parents, whether for joint custody or sole custody.
If you are looking to understand and find out about child support, look at this Alberta child support calculator. The parents must provide a certain percentage of their income for the child’s wellbeing.
What Are the Most Important Factors for Determining Child Custody?
Calculating the amount of child support is complex and depends on the formula imposed by each state on its people. And so, the judges use these formulas to determine the accurate amount.
The most crucial factor for determining the child support amount for a parent is determining how much the parent earns.
While some states consider the income of both parents, other states consider the income of the parent who provides the majority amount of money in the family.
Additionally, some states only consider the income of the non-custodial parent. And in other places, the time spent with the child is considered an essential factor.
In almost all states, the court prioritizes child support over alimony. And so, in most cases, the alimony is covered with what’s left after the child support.
In this case, each state ascertains the parent’s income differently – some consider gross income, some use net income, while some states include the bonuses.
Besides, if a parent has significant stock and shares investment, that is counted as a means for income, too, to calculate child support.
9 Common Factors: How Do They Determine How Much Child Support You Get?
- Alimony or child support received by either parent from a previous marriage (if any)
- Determining if any parent is providing child support from a previous marriage
- Ascertaining if any of the parents are responsible for children from a previous or subsequent marriage
- They determine which parent is paying for things like health insurance, living, daycare cost, etc.
- Finding out whether the parent is paying any dues, loans, or other amounts that are deducted from the paychecks
- Determining the age of the children
- Determining in which state the parents live in and therefore use those rules to find out the actual amount of child support
- They ensure whether either parent has an irregular income or not, such as – commissions, incentive-based payment, severance pay, or a lump-sum payment, etc.
- Whether the parent moved in with a new spouse where he/she has to pay the living expenses
How to Calculate the Child Support in Alberta?
In Alberta, specific Federal Child Support Guidelines and Alberta Child Support Tables help you determine child support.
Here is the new child support calculation method is given by the Federal Child Support Alberta effective from November 22, 2017.
The basic child support amount from the guideline table is based on the payor’s income – the gross annual income, which is money remaining after the tax cut.
It also largely depends on where the parent lives. If one parent lives outside of Canada, take a look at the Canada Federal Child Support Guidelines.
If the child lives with one parent, then the other parent’s income is taken into consideration.
If the child has shared custody where each parent gets equal time with the child, then the child support is calculated accordingly and assigned to each parent.
Besides, you need to be aware and eligible of section 7 (certain expenses) of the child, which are:
- Expenses for child care
- Medical and dental insurance expenses
- Expenses not covered by the insurance
- Educational expenses
- Expenses for extracurricular activities
- Expenses for college and university education
In Conclusion: How Do They Determine How Much Child Support You Get
The Alberta child support calculator is just a tool to quickly determine your child support amount without knowing the formulas and variables. And so, considering the advice of a qualified legal professional is the way to go.
It is also what you should seek in a complicated matter like child support rather than only ascertaining the amount using a calculator. We hope now you understand how do they determine how much child support you get.