© 2006 Thomson Delmar Learning. All Right Reserved. CHAPTER 10 CHILD SUPPORT.

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• Responsibility Begins At Home: Parents Must Support Their Children • Child support

– Define life necessities

• Emancipation

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• State Support Guidelines: Variations on a Theme • Models of child support guidelines

– Income-share model

– Percentage of income model

– Melson-Delaware Income Model

• Self-support reserve

• Rebuttable presumption

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• Over the Top: When Parental Income is above the Guidelines

• Working the Numbers: How to Calculate Child Support • Child support worksheet

• Financial disclosure affidavit

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• Determining What Expenses Will Be Included in Child Support • Child support determined initially by asking:

– What are the incomes of both parents?

– What are the financial needs of the child?

• Factors to be considered:– All financial resources of the non-custodial parent,

including a step-parent or new partner

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• Factors to be considered:– All financial resources of the custodial parent, including a

step-parent or new partner

– All financial resources of the children

– Earning potential of both parents

– Financial needs of both parents

– Standard of living of children before the parents’ separation

– Ages of the children

– Additional responsibility of non-custodial parent to support other spouse and children

– Extraordinary expenses

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• Federal Law Supports Healthcare • QMCSO

• Is Johnny Going to College?

• Questions to Ask • Escalation clause

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• Earning Above State Guidelines: Parent Disputes Amount Ordered • Bush v. Bush

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• Bush Court considered six factors when it determined child support

– Financial resources of the child

– Financial resources and needs of the custodial parent

– Standard of living the child would enjoy have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved

– Physical and emotional condition of the child

– Child’s educational needs

– Financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent

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• Equitable Estoppel’s Role in Determining Child Support • Affirmative defense

• County of Erie on behalf of Karin T. v. Michael T.

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• Not Set In Stone: Seeking a Modification of Child Support • Modification

• Material and substantial change in circumstances– Preponderance of the evidence

• Requesting an Upward Modification • In loco parentis

• Mears v. Mears

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• Modifying Child Support Downward • Consent Order

• McQuiddy v. McQuiddy

• Yours, Mine and Ours: Recalculating Child Support When Parents Have More Children • Ainsworth v. Ainsworth

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• The Problem of Tracking Down a Non-Paying Parent

• Show Me the Money • Imputed income and how it works

• Check Is In the Mail?: Representing a Client Seeking Enforcement • Majority of 5 million parents ordered to pay child

support do.

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• Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act

• Ways to get support – Wage withholding/ wage garnishment

– Tax refund intercept

• Civil contempt

• Criminal contempt

• Ensuring support payments – Liens

– Life insurance

– Trusts

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• Getting Serious: Feds Step In to Enforce Child Support Orders • Title IV-D of the Social Security Act

– What role AFDC and TANF play

– Parent locator service

– Child support enforcement program

• Federal Locator Service

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• URESA to the Rescue: Law Provides Jurisdictional Authority • How URESA works

• National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws

• Revised Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act

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• UIFSA: New and Improved Statute Facilitates Interstate Issues • Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act

(FFCCSOA)

• U.S. Supreme Court Decides Jurisdictional Issue • In personam jurisdiction

• Long-arm jurisdiction

• Kulko v. Kulko

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• Susan Plays Detective • Child support order should include:

– Income of parents

– Support figure based on the child support guidelines

– Duration of the support obligation

– Date on which child support is due each month

– Requirement that medical insurance be provided

– Provisions for a QMSCO

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– Provision for life insurance coverage

– Allocation of deductibles and co-payments

– Allocation of tax deductions

– Allocation of reasonable and necessary expenses for college expenses

– Payment to be made through the court system (an intelligent option)

– Cost-of-living adjustment

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• Tracking Down a Deadbeat Parent: Susan Gets Her Man • Notice of Motion for Enforcement, Certification of

the Plaintiff and Order for Enforcement

• Initiating state

• Responding state

• All’s Well, that Pays Well

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• Ethics Alert:• Contingency fee an option?

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