Divorce does not eliminate an individual’s responsibility to support others financially. In South Carolina, child support is ordered to ensure that shared children are provided for properly. The state also awards alimony in some divorces to ensure that the receiving spouse can maintain a standard of living. The question that many people have is how are these financial supports calculated. Whose income is used, and what happens if that income changes? Is the calculation different? Does one affect the other? King Law Offices can answer these and other questions regarding your South Carolina divorce. Call (888) 748-KING to schedule a consultation and explore your legal options regarding alimony and child support.
What Is Alimony and Child Support in South Carolina?
The first thing to understand about alimony and child support is that these are two separate types of financial support. Each one can be ordered independently without the other, and in general, the two are unrelated.
What Is Alimony?
Alimony is financial support that a family court judge orders one spouse to pay to the other when it has been determined that the receiving spouse is entitled to and requires monetary assistance. Typically, it is awarded when one spouse is financially dependent on the other and cannot sustain their way of life without alimony. The most common example of this is a spouse who has stayed at home to raise the couple’s children. However, alimony can also be awarded to a spouse who works, depending on the circumstances. Income is often a significant factor in calculating alimony, but it is not the only one.
What Is Child Support?
Child support is financial support that a family court judge orders one parent to pay to the other parent for the care and maintenance of their shared children. Child support is only ordered for biological and adopted children, not stepchildren. Child support is paid to the parent who has custody of the children the majority of the time. This support is ordered regardless of whether both spouses work or one stays home and while income is one factor in the calculations, it is not based entirely on income.
What Are the Types of Alimony and How Is Alimony Calculated?
Alimony can be very complicated. Unlike child support, which is a monthly payment, there are different types of alimony that can be awarded for different reasons. The calculations for alimony are also different.
Types of Alimony
S.C. Code §20-3-130 outlines five types of alimony. Permanent (periodic) alimony is the type most people are most familiar with. This type of alimony is paid on a regular basis, often monthly, and ends only on the death of either the payor or recipient, remarriage of the recipient, or when the recipient cohabitates with a new partner for a minimum of 90 days. Rehabilitative alimony is similar to permanent alimony in that it is periodic payments, but it is intended to allow the recipient to position themselves to become self-supporting with training, education, or otherwise acquiring greater earning power. Rehabilitative alimony is for a fixed period and may also be given to a stay-at-home parent with young children until such time it is considered appropriate for them to return to work.
Reimbursement alimony is meant to reimburse a spouse for expenses they paid for on behalf of the other spouse. For example, if spouse A paid for spouse B to go to college, spouse B may pay reimbursement alimony to spouse A to reimburse them for that expense. This is most often awarded in situations where the couple divorces soon after the training is complete. Lump-sum alimony is another type of alimony, also referred to as alimony in gross, and is a fixed payment made to the recipient regardless of whether a circumstance arises that might otherwise terminate alimony. This type of alimony is often in lieu of a property settlement. Finally, there is separate maintenance and support, which is basically the same as permanent alimony, except that the couple is living separately, but not yet legally divorced.
Alimony Calculations
South Carolina does not have a specific formula that is used to determine alimony. Alimony awards can vary greatly from case to case as each divorce is unique, with unique assets, incomes, child custody situations, and other factors. Therefore, it is not possible to determine how much alimony might be awarded.
However, certain factors are frequently used to calculate alimony. Those factors include the marriage’s duration and the ages of the spouses, the physical and emotional conditions of each spouse, their education levels, their employment history, and earning potential, the standard of living that existed during the marriage, any children, and the custody agreement, taxes, marital and nonmarital assets, and marital misconduct. The court also considers current and reasonably anticipated income, expenses, and needs, as well as other relevant factors to determine an appropriate amount of alimony. In some divorces, no alimony is awarded.
How Is Child Support Calculated?
South Carolina Child Support Guidelines uses the Income Shares model to determine child support. This model calculates child support as the share of each parent’s income that would have been used to provide for the child if the parents remained married. The two incomes are put together to create a total combined monthly income which is then proportionally split between the parents based on other factors. The South Carolina Department of Social Services provides a child support calculator that individuals can use to get an estimate of how much child support may be ordered. However, it is important to remember this is only an estimate and the court may order a different amount based on factors unique to the individual’s case.
Income is not the only factor that goes into calculating child support. The amount of overnights each parent has with the child is also used to determine not only the amount of child support but which parent is the custodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent who receives child support. The number of shared children, as well as the total number of children each parent has, is also a factor. Though child support received for additional children is not counted as income, child support payments made for additional children is subtracted from the payor’s income when calculating child support for the current case.
Does Child Support Affect Alimony or Alimony Affect Child Support?
Alimony and child support are two separate forms of financial support that can be awarded in a South Carolina divorce. While they are separate, this does not necessarily mean that they do not impact each other. However, the effects they can have on each other can be complex. If you have existing alimony and child support payments and want to know how they will affect child support or alimony in a divorce, King Law Offices may be able to review your case and offer guidance.
Alimony’s Effect on Child Support
If an individual is being ordered to pay child support, and they have existing alimony and child support orders from a previous marriage, those existing payments must be protected. In other words, the amount of child support ordered in this case cannot cause the payor to no longer be able to meet their obligations from the previous case. If an individual has existing alimony or child support orders, the amounts of those payments are deducted from their income when calculating child support in this case.
Additionally, if alimony is ordered in this case, it can be deducted from the payor’s income and added to the recipient’s income before calculating child support. This is not done in an attempt to prioritize either payment, but to ensure that the calculations of each parent’s proportional share of the total combined monthly income reflect the circumstances of the alimony, rather than the circumstances before the alimony. In other words, this is done to ensure the payor does not pay a larger amount of child support than they should and to ensure that the recipient does not have income that is not included in the calculations.
Child Support’s Effect on Alimony
Child support’s effect on alimony is limited. Subsequent marriages for the payor do not relieve them of their alimony and child support obligations, nor does having additional children reduce their obligation to existing children. However, if a payor has existing children and a child support order for them, this order is considered when ordering alimony in subsequent divorces. Existing child support orders must be protected when calculating alimony in a subsequent marriage. This can mean that a spouse may receive less in alimony if their spouse has children from a previous marriage.
Can Alimony and Child Support Be Changed?
As life moves on after divorce, circumstances can change. Individuals may find themselves with an increased or decreased income or other circumstances that cause them to wonder if they can change the alimony and child support that the court has ordered. Child support can be changed when there has been a substantial change in circumstances.
Alimony modifications depend on the type of alimony. Permanent alimony can be adjusted to a higher or lower amount based on changes in circumstances unless the parties have an agreement that says the alimony is non-modifiable. Other types of alimony are typically unchangeable.
When Can I Stop Paying Alimony and Child Support?
An individual paying alimony can request the court reduce or terminate alimony because they have had a significant change in circumstances. They can also request to terminate alimony because they wish to retire. However, the court does not seem to have a clear stance on whether retirement is grounds to terminate alimony, so it is essential to consider whether continuing to pay alimony would change the decision to retire and consider alternate plans in case the request is denied.
Child support is more clear. Child support typically ceases when the youngest child in the order turns 18 and graduates high school. In some cases, child support may continue, such as when the child is disabled, or in college, or the divorce decree provides specific conditions under which child support ends.
How a South Carolina Divorce Attorney Can Assist You
Alimony and child support can be complicated matters, whether you are dealing with just one or with both at once. If you have alimony or child support orders from previous marriages and are concerned about their impact on new orders, need modifications to existing orders, or want to ensure that your spouse pays you fairly for your contributions to your marriage and raising your children, an attorney may be able to assist you. An experienced attorney may be able to offer advice, explain the laws around child support or alimony, or help prepare arguments for deviating from child support guidelines or why you should receive alimony. Call King Law Offices at (888) 748-KING to meet with one of our knowledgeable attorneys and learn more about alimony, child support, and your case.