Child support is a legal issue for which you usually need a lawyer. Trying to figure out how much is owed and what happens if you do not meet child support requirements can be very confusing.
Child support disputes can involve a wide range of issues. These can include:
- Disputes over payment amounts and schedules
- Issues with collecting child support payments
- Late or missed child support payments
- Using child support payments for non-authorized uses (not for the child)
- Withholding visitation if child support is not paid
- Changes that might affect child support payments, such as the birth of another child, remarrying, relocating to another place, and a loss or gain of employment
Who Needs to Pay Child Support in Louisiana?
Child support is paid to the custodial parent by the noncustodial parent. The custodial parent is the one who has custody of the child most of the time; the noncustodial parent is the parent who spends less time with the child. Naturally, the custodial parent will have more responsibilities and child-rearing costs, so courts require payment from the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent.
Note that if the parties both have custody, the one who spends the most amount of time with the child is the one who receives child support. The courts are fair: if the child support payer spends 3 days a week with the child, they will not have to pay full child support. It will be adjusted to account for the payer’s expenses for caring for the child.
For example, if the mother has the child all week and the father has visitation, the child support amount might be $ 1,000 a month. If the mother has the child for 4 days and the father has them for 3 days, the child support amount will be reduced to $571.00 – four-sevenths of $1000.
Factors that Go into Calculating Child Support in Louisiana
The courts provide the guidelines for determining how much money the non-custodial parent requires to support their child. The guidelines depend on several different factors, including:
- Number of children in the household
- The gross income and adjusted gross income of both parents
- Child care costs
- Cost of health insurance
- A provision for miscellaneous expenses
For child support purposes, a parent’s “gross income” encompasses all financial resources, including salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, traditional pensions, military pensions, or severance pay. Gross income may also be money received as gifts or employer allowances. A parent’s “adjusted gross income” is gross income minus pre-existing spousal support and child support orders for children from a previous relationship.
Even if you are unemployed, you may have some income from Social Security payments, workers’ compensation, or unemployment benefits. Spousal support that you receive is considered income, too.
When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, a court can impute income and assign a higher income based on what that parent should be making. In other words, the court can say, “this is what you should be making,” and use that figure to calculate the amount of child support. To avoid an income imputation and the resulting increase in a child support obligation, the unemployed or underemployed parent must demonstrate a valid reason for not working or working for less money.
Some valid reasons for underemployment can be a physical disability, mental incapacity, or caregiving responsibilities for a child under five years old. However, a court cannot impute income to a parent who is temporarily unemployed or forced to take a lower-paying job due to a natural disaster.
How Does Louisiana Calculate Child Support?
In Louisiana, courts use a fixed formula to calculate child support. The formula is part of the “Louisiana Child Support Guidelines.” The formula uses the total amount of both parents’ monthly income and the number of children they have to determine basic child support. In addition to basic child support, the formula allows for add-on expenses. Together, basic child support and add-on expenses equal the total amount of monthly child support.
Can You Challenge the Amount of Support?
There is a rebuttable presumption that the child support determined using the guidelines is the right amount following the Louisiana statutes. In some situations, however, the final amount or how that number is divided is unjust to a parent or the child.
Therefore, before a court issues a child support order, either parent can request a court to adjust the amount of support, either an increase or a decrease, based on the following factors:
- The combined adjusted gross income is not within the amounts set on the schedule
- There is a legal obligation to support other dependents in the household
- Whether there are children in multiple families to support
- Extraordinary medical expenses
- Extraordinary community debt
- The need for immediate and temporary support for a child when a full hearing on the issue of support is pending
- The permanent or temporary total disability of a parent
Can Nonpayment Stop My Visitation?
A noncustodial parent has visitation rights that cannot be affected by nonpayment. If you have court-ordered visitation and the other parent is not allowing you to see your child because you are not paying your child support, you can return to court to ask that the visitation order be enforced. Even if you have not paid or are behind on child support payments, you still have the right to visit your children.
What is the “Support Enforcement Services” Office?
Louisiana has a government office called “Support Enforcement Services (SES).” Through the SES, you can receive help in locating a non-custodial parent, ordering a paternity test, establishing a child support order, and enforcing child support orders.
The following is a breakdown of some of the services that SES offers:
- You can utilize the Federal Parent Locator Service or the Electronic Parent Locator Network to locate a non-custodial parent. The Federal Parent Locator Service is a database that provides information on parents receiving social security benefits, veteran’s pensions, and those working for the Federal government. The Electronic Parent Network is a resource that collects information that makes it easier to search for absent parents throughout the country.
- To establish a child support order, the SES must know the whereabouts of the non-custodial parent. The SES can help locate a missing parent or obtain past-due child support through many resources, including the U.S. Treasury Department IRS.
The SES can assist in enforcing support orders if the non-custodial parent is not meeting their financial obligations. Through income assignment, intercepting state and federal tax refunds and lottery winnings, suspending licenses and registration, denying passports, and requesting a contempt of court charge, the SES can penalize and attempt to collect payment from delinquent non-custodial parents.
What Questions To Ask A Child Support Lawyer?
These are some of the questions that you may want to ask a lawyer during your initial consultation:
- How does a change in a parent’s income affect child support?
- What options are available for child support enforcement?
- How difficult is it to change the child support amount or obtain a child support modification?
- How does custodial parent versus non-custodial parent status affect support payments?
- Does alimony change the amount of child support I receive or pay?
- How can I be certain that child support payments cover daycare (or other childcare options), health insurance and health care costs, special needs care, and all of the children?
When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?
If you reside in Louisiana and are struggling to understand your current child support order or need assistance obtaining one, you should find a local Louisiana child support attorney to receive help on these issues.
Your attorney can guide you through the process from start to finish and ensure that your rights are protected. They can research the laws to determine your next steps if you have any questions or concerns.
