Child support responsibile for their well-being

I am happy to be back this week with a new article. I took a few weeks off to spend time with my newborn son, Beau.

A new baby brings many joys, but it also brings on new responsibilities. As a parent, I am responsible for providing for my children’s well-being. This includes providing for their physical, emotional and financial needs.

While my wife and I are happily married, this responsibility exists even if we were to end our relationship.

One of the most contentious parts of a couple’s separation when a child is involved is the amount of child support that is required to be paid under New Mexico Child Support Guidelines. This week, we will be discussing how child support is calculated.

The amount of child support a party is required to pay is based on multiple factors. The Court looks at the custody arrangement, the gross monthly income for each party, and the expenses related to the child among other things.

One of the largest factors in determining the amount of support to be paid is the physical custody arrangement between the parties.

If one parent has primary physical custody of the child and the other parent has the child less than 35 percent of the year or 127 days or less per year, the parties are considered to have a basic visitation arrangement requiring the parties to use worksheet A of the child support guidelines.

When the child spends at least 35 percent of the year in each home and each parent significantly share the duties, responsibilities and expenses of parenting, then the parties are considered to have a shared responsibility arrangement requiring the parties to use worksheet B of the guidelines.

As any parent might expect, the amount of support increases under worksheet A since the non-custodial parent has the child less often increasing the financial burden on the custodial parent.

Another major factor is the parties’ gross monthly income. While calculating a person’s gross monthly income can be simple if the party receives a fixed monthly wage from a single employer, it gets more complicated when a party receives income that varies month-by-month, or when the party has multiple sources of income.

A party’s gross income includes, among other things, income from salaries, tips, commissions, bonuses, investment income, disability, workers compensation and unemployment benefits, and alimony. Gross income does not include income from means tested benefits such as food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Medicaid.

New Mexico presumes that each parent is working. Accordingly, New Mexico courts will assume each parent makes at least minimum wage even if a parent is not working. So if a parent is not working, the Court does not calculate that parent’s income as $0. Instead, the Court will, at a minimum, use the minimum wage rate that’s currently at $1,300 for the party’s monthly income.

There is one exception to this rule in that the Court typically will not impute minimum wage for a non-working parent if that parent is the primary custodial parent of the child, and the parent is actively caring for the child who is under age 6.

A more complicated issue arises when a parent is intentionally underemployed in an attempt to reduce his child support payments. An example would be a parent taking a job as a cashier at a fast food restaurant when he is a licensed attorney.

In those circumstances, the courts are granted significant discretion to impute a higher income than the person’s actual gross income to deter the parent from being underemployed.

Other factors considered in determining the amount of support to be paid include the amount of expenses related to the care of the child. These expenses include costs for work-related child care, extraordinary medical and dental expenses, educational expenses, and transportation and communication expenses for long distance visitation or time sharing.

There is a presumption that the amount of support determined under the guidelines is the appropriate amount to be ordered by the court. Consequently, courts rarely deviate from the guidelines, and when they do so, they are required to state the reasons for the deviation in the court order.

The courts provide an electronic worksheet to help parents calculate the amount of support to be paid. The worksheet is available online at https://nmcourts.gov/cgi/prose_lib/csw2008.htm

John P. Sugg is an attorney in Ruidoso and can be contacted at 575-257-7402 or email Sugg with questions through his website at http://sugglawfirm.com