Making sure a child support decision is as fair as possible
Posted on: 18 December 2015
A separation is usually a complicated procedure for everybody involved, not only because the emotional aspects of it. There are many procedures and legal requirements that must be met to ensure a divorce is being handled correctly. One of the largest factors to consider in a separation between two adults is if there are any children involved. Aside from deciding on custody, you'll also need to face the question about child support. Many people worry that the child support will be handed out unevenly between the two parents. However, there are some things you need to keep in mind to make sure your child support case is being handled as fair as possible.
Doing the taxes
The first thing you need to do is to make sure you have done all of your taxes correctly. As the sum you're eligible to pay for your child support is being decided by your income, both your shared and personal income, it's important your family lawyers and the government have your correct income documented. If you have turned in your tax return late, for example, this might mean that the deciding organs have outdated data of your income, which will mean you might have to pay higher or lower child support than you actually should. Presenting correct information will also mean there is a smaller risk for you having to go through the procedure of determining child support later.
More children
Make sure your family lawyer takes other children you might have custody over into account as well. If you're supporting other children that might not be from the marriage that you are now ending, you might not need to pay as much child support for the child from the marriage at hand. If you are taking care of any step children that you don't have any custody over, this should not be accounted as taking care of more than one child.
Paying by care
Lastly, to not having to pay an excessive amount of child support is to pay it by care. The more nights you take care of the child or children every year, the less you will have to pay in child support as this accounts for as child support in another form than just money. This is a natural way of sharing costs between former spouses as you are paying for the children directly instead of transferring money. You, your former spouse, and your family lawyer should determine how many nights a year every parent should take care of the child. Having a plan made for this will make the financial planning of the child support easier and make possible court cases run smoother.
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