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The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines
The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines
were created and refined in the late
1980s and early 1990s. Prior to the introduction
of the Guidelines, there was no systemwide
uniformity among the judges regarding
the entering of child support orders. Judges
were allowed to consider individual circumstances
of each case and apply the law as they
saw fit. The result was a degree of variance
from jurisdiction to jurisdiction regarding child
support orders. With the implementation of
the Child Support Guidelines, Connecticut began
to create uniformity in the area of child
support based upon mandates from the federal
government. A goal of the Connecticut Child
Support Guidelines was to promote settlements.
The theory was that if the amount of
child support about to be ordered was easily
predictable more cases would settle because it
would be more clear "what the judge will do."
The issue in most instances is one where the
lawyers can both immediately acknowledge
"what the judge will probably do."
Our Child Support Guidelines are based
upon economic studies of the cost of living
with children and are also adjusted to the
higher cost of living in Connecticut. The underlying
theory of the Connecticut Child Support
Guidelines is that both parents have an
obligation to support their children. Because
one parent is usually the "custodial" parent of
the children, the custodial parent receives payment
from the "non-custodial" parent.
The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines
make an attempt to be flexible given certain
circumstances reflect the realities of our society
and the specific facts of a case. The Guidelines
take into account scenarios which, when
brought to the attention of the court, may become
factors in the court's determination. The
court can take into account split custody arrangements,
shared physical custody arrangements
or parental obligations for children other
than the children of the marriage. There is
some recognition regarding the contribution of
other individuals to the household and "deviation
criteria" which include facts or circumstances
which may justify a support order different
from the presumptive amounts mandated
by the Guidelines.
The Guidelines include a worksheet which
produces the mathematical computation. There
is also a chart, or grid, for the court to reference
the factors of the number of children and
the combined net income of both of the parents.
The presumption is that the Guidelines
must be followed. The court has to specifically
state, on the record, if in fact the Guidelines
are not followed and why not.
The first element of determining
the appropriate child support order
is a determination of the respective
gross incomes of the parties. There
may be a dispute as to the correct
income as one of the parties may be
self-employed and the accusation is
that all income is not being properly
reported. Further arguments may be
one of the parties is under employed
or not working to their potential for
no justifiable reason. The court has the discretion
to attribute to one of the parties an income
other than their stated income. There are certain
allowable exemptions, deductions and
credits from the gross income which, when
subtracted from the gross income, will provide
the court with the net incomes of the parties.
The court is obligated to look at the gross income
minus allowable deductions to determine
net income.
The net income of both of the parties is
combined to produce a total amount of net
weekly income available for child support purposes.
From this total amount, the chart or grid
is used to determine the appropriate level of
support that a child or children deserve given
that level of income of their parents. Once the
total amount of child support is determined,
the respective incomes of the parties are compared
and a percentage of comparison between
the two incomes is applied to the child support
amount. For example, if the combined net
weekly income of the parents is $2,500.00 and
there are two children, the Guidelines Chart
indicates that those two children should receive
$566.00 of support from both of their parents
per week. If one parent is earning 75% of the
original $2,500.00 net weekly income, that
parent will be responsible for 75% of the necessary
$566.00 or $425.00 per week child support.
Some adjustment is made for the parent
who is providing the health insurance for the
children.
The Child Support Guidelines create further
obligations for the parents in the areas of child
care and unreimbursed health expenses for the
children. Once it is determined that one parent
has a child support payment obligation to the
other, the court then calculates the new ratio of
funds available in each household (custodial
and non-custodial), determines the respective
obligations for the parents related to the child
care expenses for the children. Child care expenses
considered by the court are limited to
those expenses which allow the custodial parent
to work. In addition, the "new" ratio between
the net incomes of the parties, (after the payment
of child support), determines the percentage
that each parent will be responsible for of the
unreimbursed medical expenses of the children.
The Connecticut Child Support Guidelines
are mandatory but only within certain income
parameters. The chart, which is used to determine
the support obligation for the parties
based on their combined net incomes, only
considers combined net incomes up to
$2,500.00 per week. In those households
where the combined net weekly income of the
parents exceeds $2,500.00 per week, the court
is given discretion with how to deal with the
sum in excess of the $2,500.00. For example,
for two children whose parents have a combined
net weekly income of $2,500.00, their
parents together have an obligation to support
them in the amount of $566.00 per week. For
those families that have a combined net weekly
income in excess of $2,500.00, the court usually
is obligated to award, at a minimum, the
$566.00 per week and then deal with the excess
on a case by case basis. The factors in
those cases include such issues as private
schools, camps, activities for the children, etc.,
which are not otherwise specifically dealt with
in the Connecticut Child Support Guidelines.
Connecticut has a new statute which went
into effect on October 1, 2002 to deal with the
issue of college expenses for the children. Simply
stated, the new law gives the court jurisdiction
to enter orders to obligate divorcing parents
to pay for their children's college education.
Prior to October 1, 2002, no such law existed.
The new law allows the court to impose an order
whether or not the parents agree.
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