Calculating Child Support Payments
When you get divorced, dividing your assets may be the easiest part of the process. Determining custody, visitation, and child support for the children you created together is likely to be a much more difficult thing to do. Fortunately, South Carolina makes child support slightly easier to determine. The court considers several factors when calculating child support payments, and all parents need to do is provide the financial information. Once ordered, payments are made on a regular basis to ensure that the children’s needs are consistently met. At King Law Offices, our experienced family law attorneys may be able to assist you in better understanding the laws surrounding child custody and child support so that you can plan your finances accordingly. Call (888) 748-KING to schedule a consultation and gain a deeper knowledge of child support in South Carolina.
What Is Child Support?
Child support is court-ordered payments from one parent to another to help cover the expenses of raising one or more shared children. Child support is paid by biological or adoptive parents, not stepparents. These payments are intended to help pay for the child’s basic living expenses, such as food, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare, as if the parents were still together under one roof.
Child support payments are ongoing until a time set by the family court. Usually, this is when the child, or the youngest child when there are multiple children, turns 18, graduates high school, or graduates college. Child support continuing through college is typically only ordered if one or both parents specifically request it. These payments go to the parent, not the child, and can be paid either directly to the parent or through South Carolina’s State Disbursement Unit (SDU).
What Factors Are Used When Calculating Child Support Payments?
South Carolina uses the income shares model when calculating child support. This method considers the combined adjusted gross monthly income of both parents, then determines the child support amount based on how much each parent’s income contributes to the total. This is the basic method, but there is more to it than that. The South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) offers a child support calculator that parents can use to get an estimate of what child support payments might be. However, parents should remember that this is an estimate only and the court is not bound by it.
The court also considers other factors that may limit or increase the funds available to one or both parents. These other factors can include prior support obligations, the number of children being supported by the child support being ordered, how many overnight visitations the visiting parent has, any alimony being paid, the number of other children each parent may have, work-related daycare expenses of either parent, and health insurance expenses that either parent incurs for the children. These factors can cause the basic calculated figure for child support to increase or decrease, depending on the information provided.
How Is Child Support Determined in Unusual Custody Cases?
Traditionally, child custody is awarded to either the mother or the father. Many states have what is called a “tender years doctrine,” which theorizes that children should be in their mother’s custody when they are young because mothers are better equipped to emotionally support the children and take care of their needs. South Carolina does not use this doctrine and instead believes that either parent can be capable of providing emotional support and taking care of a child’s needs. Therefore, a father having custody is no longer considered unusual in South Carolina. However, there are other circumstances that some people may consider unusual and wonder how they impact calculating child support payments.
Unmarried Parents
When a child’s parents were never married, and in some cases never even lived together, child support is calculated the same way as if they had been married. The two parents’ incomes are combined for a total, and then the amount of child support is ordered based on that.
When the parents were never married, the mother does get automatic sole custody of the children. If paternity has been established, or once it is established, the father can petition for custody, but until he does and the court makes a decision, he may be ordered to pay child support to the mother.
Split Custody
Split custody is a unique custody arrangement where parents have two or more children, and each parent has custody of one or more of the children. This is not a common arrangement, as the court typically does not believe it to be in the best interests of the children to be separated this way, but there are exceptions.
When custody is split, the court will calculate child support for each child, then offset the amounts. The parent that owes the larger amount would pay the difference to the other parent.
50/50 Custody
Shared custody is the most common custody arrangement in South Carolina, but it is rarely 50/50. In most cases, one parent has more time than the other, even if that time is minimal. However, in some cases where the parents may live in the same school district or even the same neighborhood or who have unique circumstances such as unusual work hours, the court may order an equal 50/50 custody arrangement.
In a typical shared custody arrangement, the parent who has less time with the children is often the parent who pays child support to the parent who has more time with them. Because a 50/50 arrangement means that both parents have equal time, the court will typically order the parent with the higher income to pay child support to the parent with the lower income. Calculating child support payments in all custody arrangements is about ensuring the children continue to have the same or as close to the same standard of living as they did prior to the divorce. The higher-income parent paying child support to the lower-income parent ensures that the child’s two homes, where they spend equal amounts of time, are as close to equal as possible.
Other Unique Custody Arrangements
Other unique custody arrangements may occur. For example, grandparents or other relatives may have custody after both parents have died, in which case no one would pay child support. However, there may be other times when another relative has custody and wants to request child support from one or both parents. In rare cases, a parent may not have any visitation or custody rights and still be expected to pay child support.
Because these custody arrangements are so unique and outside the standard arrangements, individuals may want to consult with a family law attorney at King Law Offices to explain the specifics and get guidance on how calculating child support payments is handled in these instances.
What Happens to Child Support If Income or Other Factors Change?
Life changes happen, including increases or decreases in income, remarriages, more children, and other significant changes. While not every change has an impact on child support, some do. In particular, increases or decreases in either parent’s income can affect child support. When a parent wants to request a modification to child support, how they do so depends on how their child support was first ordered or if they began receiving government assistance such as Medicaid, food, or cash assistance, after child support was ordered.
DSS Cases
Some child support orders come from the government as part of a parent requesting assistance. This assistance may be Medicaid, food, or cash assistance. Other parents may request assistance in locating a parent, establishing paternity, or enforcing a child support order. In these cases, the order may come from the Department of Social Service’s Child Support Enforcement or it may have come from a court and is assigned to the department.
Typically, South Carolina’s Department of Social Services will review child support cases that are assigned to the state because one parent is receiving government assistance every three years and automatically modify the orders if a significant enough change has taken place. Additionally, either parent can request such a review at any time if they believe there has been a significant change in circumstances to warrant the review.
Non-DSS Cases
In cases where the parents have divorced or otherwise gone through family court to seek their child support order and have not engaged any services from DSS, if a parent wants to request a change, they must file for a modification of the child support order. The court will look at the evidence presented and decide whether a modification is warranted.
Parents should note that modifications do not always turn out the way they expect. For example, a parent may request an increase because they know the other parent received a raise, but if the other parent has remarried and had more children and the raise was not large enough, the court may instead decrease the amount of child support. Therefore, parents may wish to consult with an attorney before moving forward to discuss the potential outcomes.
How Can a South Carolina Family Law Attorney Assist You?
Child support is a necessary part of parents going their separate ways. Child support ensures that the children do not suffer as a result of their parents’ separation. Whether the result of divorce or unmarried parents who break up, calculating child support payments requires using the state-prescribed method and accurate information provided by both parents to ensure the children are appropriately provided for. If you have additional questions regarding child support or need to request or modify a child support order, our experienced family law attorneys may be able to assist you. Call King Law Offices at (888) 748-KING to schedule a consultation and review your options.