| Both parents are obliged by law to support their children in accordance with their ability to do so. Most jurisdictions have child support standards in effect, which provide a formula for determining child support based upon a proportion of each parent's gross income.
Such issues are rarely a concern for the court when parents are bound by marriage or committed relationship. But when parents end their marriage or live separately from their children, the courts are commonly required to establish the sum of child maintenance a non-custodial parent must pay. This issue can be reached by agreement or by arguing about it in court. Child maintenance payments, like alimony, may be included into the divorce judgment or may be provided for in a marital separation agreement.
If a non-custodial parent has other legal duties, they will also be looked into in determining child support. For instance, if the non-custodial parent is paying child support from a previous relationship, the court will take that responsibility into consideration. Living expenses, including rent and food will also be considered by the judge. Yet, the court will not reduce child maintenance payments to make it easier for the non-custodial parent to make discretionary payments.
To assist the court in determining the appropriate amount of child maintenance, both parties are to prepare a financial declaration. Each parent will be required to provide complete information about their income, property holdings, including bank accounts, investments and real estate and their financial obligations. These documents will be heavily relied on by the court in making the order and, thus, it is in the best interests of the children that the required documents be filled in completely and honestly.
Parents who refuse to pay child support will be punished. If the custodial parent makes a legal claim against the nonpaying parent, he or she may be taken to court. In the USA if the nonpaying parent is found guilty, he or she may be imprisoned. Or, the guilty parent may be sentenced to probation and allowed to remain free, providing that he or she repays all child support and makes all future payments in time. |