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Factors used to calculate child support in New Jersey

On Behalf of | Jul 14, 2020 | Family Law |

It costs money to live. Even the most frugal individual requires finances to meet their basic needs, which is also true for families in New Jersey. Raising children in the state costs money, and when parents are no longer together due to divorce or separation, both parents must provide finances for costs related to caring for the child. Thus, child support needs to be established, especially when joint custody is not in place.

Child support refers to the payments that are court-ordered to be paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent as a means to help with the costs associated with raising a child. If both parents can agree to the terms of child support, they could seek approval by a judge in a civil matter such as a divorce. However, if parents do not agree on terms, then the court determines child support obligations.

In New Jersey, certain factors are used when calculating child support. This includes the income of both parents, daycare expenses, the costs of medical insurance, any applicable Social Security benefits, the living arrangements of the child and any other factors that are considered to be relevant.

When child support is ordered, it is expected that payments will be used to cover certain costs pertaining to the child named in the order. This includes basic necessities, such as food, clothing and shelter, health insurance, education expenses, child care expenses, extraordinary medical expenses, travel costs associated with visitation and other expenses considered to be necessary to support the best interests of the child.

Once child support is established, it is understood that modifications may be necessary if there are changes in circumstances. This refers to substantial and unexpected changes that require either a decrease in payments made or an increase in payments received. Most often changes in income causes a need for modification, but changes in the needs of the child could also spark the need to alter a support order.

Child support is often necessary financial support to establish; however, this family law matter can comes with various obstacles. Thus, if you need to establish, enforce or modify a child support, it is important to understand how work through these matters in order to protect your rights and the bests interests of the child.

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