Guideline Economics offers an alternative
to the Income Shares and Percentage of Obligor
Income methods of calculating child support, commonly
used in U.S. states and many countries. Our
method is based upon the actual costs of children and sound
economics.
We also feature sophisticated calculations
of deviations to the child support presumptive
awards that are currently in use.
This site provides a wide array
of information, research, and products on the many methods
of calculating child support and correctly calculating
deviations.
Primer on Child
Support Deviations
Child support guideline awards
are not written in stone. Whether you are a
noncustodial or custodial parent you have
the right to ask the court to make an award
that differs from the presumptive
amount if your case warrants. Read
more (PDF).
Four regular
CLE hours for GA lawyers.
Public welcome.
* Develop convincing numbers for Schedule E;
rebut
others'.
* Seminar material independently available.
Next seminar is September 15, 2011, Atlanta,
state Bar Building. Click here for
details and enrollment.
News
Arizona
Proposes Alimony-Based
Child Support Arizona’s 2010 child support
review committee has proposed a radical new type
of child
support guideline. It is not based on child costs but has
the goal of closing the standard of living gap between
the custodial and noncustodial parent households. Traditional
child support guidelines are based on a claim of a tie to
child costs. The presumptive award table in the Arizona
proposal
is an
arbitrary closing of the standard
of living gap between the two parents. This so-called Child
Outcomes Based Support (COBS) model has no discoverable
economic foundation and has never been reviewed and approved
by economists on a peer review basis. The COBS model for
child support injects alimony issues into child support
in a state having one of the
most liberal alimony statutes
in the U.S.
Click here for
the recommendations (PDF) and here for
the committee's suppliment (PDF). Click here for
the full set of the state committee's public documents.
New
Hampshire Study Recommends Sweeping Changes The latest review of NH child support
guidelines has recommended moving from the arbitrary, fixed
Percentage of Obligor to the Income Shares model and a presumptive
parenting time adjustment.
Georgia
Changes from Percentage of Obligor to Income Shares Georgia takes a small step forward
January 1, 2007 when it replaces its child support guidelines
based on percentage of obligor's income (which fails to take
into account the custodial parent's income), with an Income
Shares model. Many child support amounts will change. For
FAQs on the new law, click here.
Features
Modify Your Child Support Economic hard times can make it
more important to modify child a support order.
This
helpful page is by the federal DHHS but also contains
misinformation. It says parenting time is factored in
when it is not.
Also, look up your state's
modification process.
Reservists Many reservists have a sudden loss
in income and need to modify child support obligations
or face heavy arrearage. For details go to News
& Information and select “Reservists.”
The
Economics of Child Support Determination These presentation slides in PDF
show the factors that need to go into child support guidelines
and awards. Given by R. Mark Rogers to the Fathers and
Families Conference in Detroit, June, 2005.
Law
Professor Admits No Economic Basis for Child Support (PDF)
University of Texas law professor Jack Sampson, coauthor
of The Sampson & Tindall Family Code Book,
admitted to the July 12, 2006 hearing of the Texas House
Juvenile Justice Committee that the state’s child
support guidelines are totally arbitrary. No economic
data was used to set the guidelines. He was forced to
admit this after listening to this testimony.
Child
Support Schedule and Parenting: Time Adjustment Issues
(PDF)
Though a submission to the Georgia Child Support Commission,
this paper's examination of allowances in child support
awards for the division of parenting time is relevant
and useful to any jurisdictions.
High
Income Families
Those who earn more than $60,000 a year, or where both
parents' combined income is over $100,000, are at greatest
risk for excessive child support awards.
Critique
of PSI's Income Shares(PDF)
This thorough critique of Policy Studies Inc.’s
Income Shares model for child support was presented on
March 31, 2006 by R. Mark Rogers to the Alabama Administrative
Office of the Courts and the Alabama Guideline Review
Panel. Also available as a PDF
of the PowerPoint presentation.
The Law And
Economics Of Child Support Payments This recent book is a collection
of papers by R. M. Rogers, Sanford Braver, and others
and provides important citation material. They find that
child support guidelines currently in use in the U.S.
typically generate awards three to four times what they
would be if based on economically sound cost tables and
a true equal duty of support for both parents. See the
full
description [MSWord.] Available at the publisher's
web site and (least costly) Barnes
and Noble.
method is based upon the actual costs of children and sound
economics.
Montana’s
child support review panel. For more details and comments
by R. Mark Rogers go to