Child Support

There are many misconceptions about what child support is and what it is meant to cover.  The most common misconceptions about what basic child support are as follows:

1. Basic child support covers employment related childcare and unreimbursed medical expenses.  
2. If you are the payor of child support, you have the right to know how your support payments are being spent.  
3. Joint or Shared Custody equates to no child support.
4. Child support begins as soon as a divorce complaint or support application is filed.  
5. Child support is always based upon the "formula". 
6. Child support is exclusively intended to cover direct child(ren) related expenses such as food and clothing. 

Like most other aspects of life, your right to receive or your obligation to pay child support is very fact specific.  Connecticut law provides for a presumptive amount of child support to be paid from one parent to the other as a function of the combined parental income up to a certain level of income.  Moreover, that same law provides for the presumptive division of certain additional expenses, again, up to a certain level of income.  

Once the combined parental income exceeds a certain level, the presumptive basic support obligation and additional support percentages give way to ranges for both.  Either way, there are over a dozen deviation criterion that Courts consider when fashioning child support orders.  

It is important for you and your child(ren) that you know what your rights and obligations are.  Please refer to the Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines for basic definitions.  For a more comprehensive understanding of your rights and obligations, consult an attorney that specializes in the field of family and matrimonial law.