If a father has two children from a previous relationship, he does have regular visitation and he does pay child support (deducted from his paycheck)
If he were to Marry another person, would it now be a combined income to determine how much the two would get for child support or would it still only be based off of the fathers income?
Now, lets say the father looses his job for whatever reason. Could the new wife's income be garnished for child support from her paycheck?
We are more then whiling to pay, we are just curious to know our rights and the laws behind them.
There are two numbers the court will look at, the standard calculation and the transfer payment. The standard calculation is based only on the income of the mother and father, not the income of any other person such as a new spouse, although that information has to be disclosed to the court. The court will not add the income of the new spouse in the determining the standard calculation.
However, there is the second number, the amount that the court sets as the amount to pay. The court may increase or decrease (deviate) the amount of the standard calculation based on other factors such as the amount of time the paying parent spends with the child, wealth of the parties, extraordinary wealth, special needs of the children, support obligations for other children, but doing this is entirely discretionary with the court. They can, but don't have to change and can simply use the standard calculation.
If the father is asking the court to deviate from the standard calculation to reduce his payment because of lower income, or no income, the court will then look at the income of the other person in considering whether to deviate. As an example, a mother has a new husband making $100,000 per year so she decides not to work. If she is asking the court to reduce her support obligation because she doesn't have a job, the court would likely say no because she has substantial household income.
Father needs to be careful that a court will likely impute income to him if his income is less than historical. If he made $70,000 in 2007, $75,000 in 2008, and then quits his job and gets a minimum wage job because his new wife makes $300,000 per year, the court would probably base his income on his historical income to determine the standard calculation.
You should consult with an attorney to give you more specific information based on the facts in your case. Good luck.
There are two numbers the court will look at, the standard calculation and the transfer payment. The standard calculation is based only on the income of the mother and father, not the income of any other person such as a new spouse, although that information has to be disclosed to the court. The court will not add the income of the new spouse in the determining the standard calculation.
However, there is the second number, the amount that the court sets as the amount to pay. The court may increase or decrease (deviate) the amount of the standard calculation based on other factors such as the amount of time the paying parent spends with the child, wealth of the parties, extraordinary wealth, special needs of the children, support obligations for other children, but doing this is entirely discretionary with the court. They can, but don't have to change and can simply use the standard calculation.
If the father is asking the court to deviate from the standard calculation to reduce his payment because of lower income, or no income, the court will then look at the income of the other person in considering whether to deviate. As an example, a mother has a new husband making $100,000 per year so she decides not to work. If she is asking the court to reduce her support obligation because she doesn't have a job, the court would likely say no because she has substantial household income.
Father needs to be careful that a court will likely impute income to him if his income is less than historical. If he made $70,000 in 2007, $75,000 in 2008, and then quits his job and gets a minimum wage job because his new wife makes $300,000 per year, the court would probably base his income on his historical income to determine the standard calculation.
You should consult with an attorney to give you more specific information based on the facts in your case. Good luck.
