Child Support

Child support is an amount of money that the non-custodial parent is ordered to pay the custodial parent by the courts.  The child support payment is given because children have the right to benefit from the incomes of both of their parents.  Child support is meant to pay for the costs of raising the child that are not incurred by the non-custodial parent because they do not have physical custody.  It is also possible that the court orders child support to be paid even if custody is shared.

In general, child support regulations and the amount of child support paid is determined in Massachusetts pursuant to the Massachusetts child support guidelines.  There are a variety of factors that are taken into consideration when determining what the child support payment will be, some of which include:

• The standard of living the child experienced prior to the divorce
• The income and needs of the parent with custody
• The income of the non-custodial parent and their ability to pay
• The financial needs of the child, from education, day care and health insurance to any special needs the child may have

It is important that the child’s standard of living is considered, because this should not fall as a result of a parent’s divorce.  Since determining payment of child support can be difficult to determine, the child support attorneys at Revelli & Revelli are committed to looking out for your best interests and making sure you are being treated fairly. Call us if you or someone you know are going through a divorce and need help navigating child support regulations; we are child support attorneys that can help.

Child Support FAQs

Are loans and other binding payments taken into consideration when determining ability to pay child support?

When determining a parent’s ability to pay child support the courts consider their net income.  To find net income, the courts will take their gross income and subtract all mandatory deductions that will be made.  Some of these mandatory deductions include existing child support obligations, income taxes and Social Security taxes; things like payments for loans are not seen as mandatory.  Making the determination as to what is mandatory and what is not is at the court’s discretion, but generally the court’s priority is supporting the child.

Do courts always take into consideration my potential earnings rather than what I actually earn?

Many times, a judge will decide what the court wants to consider.  This is permitted because a parent should not have the ability to avoid paying child support by taking a job that pays less, because ultimately that affects the child’s well being.