One of the most common questions posed by parents of minor children who are separated – or who are about to separate – is the following: what is child support and how much can I expect to pay or receive in child support from my co-parent?
This question and the concern which underlies it is completely understandable. To be sure, life is expensive in and of itself. Add to that the cost of raising a child or children, and it is no wonder that both the prospective child support obligor (i.e. pays support) and obligee (i.e. receives support) might have concerns about how much each month they stand to owe or receive in child support, respectively.
In the first part of this four-part series, we, generally, defined child support and examined how it is calculated. In this second installment, we will take a more in-depth look at how income and the other requisite inputs for the child support equation are calculated.
Income
Unsurprisingly, in Ohio, the main input when calculating child support is each parent’s income. For a parent who is employed to full capacity, his or her income for child support purposes is defined to be his or her gross (i.e. pre-tax) income. Ohio Revised Code 3119.01(C)(13) defines “gross income” for purposes of calculating child support as follows:
the total of all earned and unearned income from all sources during a calendar year, whether or not the income is taxable, and includes income from salaries, wages, overtime pay, and bonuses …; commissions; royalties; tips; rents; dividends; severance pay; pensions; interest; trust income; annuities; social security benefits, including retirement, disability, and survivor benefits that are not means-tested; workers’ compensation benefits; unemployment insurance benefits; disability insurance benefits; benefits that are not means-tested and that are received by and in the possession of the veteran who is the beneficiary for any service-connected disability under a program or law administered by the United States department of veterans’ affairs or veterans’ administration; spousal support actually received; and all other sources of income.
Accordingly, when calculating child support, the courts use an intentionally broad definition of gross income. The reason for this is simple: to ensure that any minor children of the relationship are receiving an appropriate amount of financial support from each parent.
Despite the same, in Ohio, the following categories of income are statutorily excluded from the definition of “gross income” for purposes of calculating child support:
-
- Benefits received from means-tested government administered programs, including Ohio works first; prevention, retention, and contingency; means-tested veterans’ benefits; supplemental security income; supplemental nutrition assistance program; disability financial assistance; or other assistance for which eligibility is determined on the basis of income or assets;
- Benefits for any service-connected disability under a program or law administered by the United States department of veterans’ affairs or veterans’ administration that are not means-tested, that have not been distributed to the veteran who is the beneficiary of the benefits, and that are in the possession of the United States department of veterans’ affairs or veterans’ administration;
- Child support amounts received for children who are not included in the current calculation;
- Amounts paid for mandatory deductions from wages such as union dues but not taxes, social security, or retirement in lieu of social security;
- Nonrecurring or unsustainable income or cash flow items;
- Adoption assistance, kinship guardianship assistance, and foster care maintenance payments made pursuant to Title IV-E of the “Social Security Act,” 94 Stat. 501, 42 U.S.C.A. 670 (1980), as amended;
- State kinship guardianship assistance described in section 163of the Revised Code and payment from the kinship support program described in section 5101.881 of the Revised Code.
Ultimately, to calculate child support for a parent who is employed to full capacity, the court will total that parent’s gross income from all relevant sources, as detailed above, and then input that total gross income into the Ohio Child Support Worksheet. The Ohio Child Support Worksheet will then use that income to calculate child support.
What income is used for a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or who is not employed to full capacity (i.e. underemployed)? In such a circumstance, the court will add that parent’s actual gross income to any “potential income” of the parent. Generally speaking, “potential income” in this context means the gross income that that parent would have earned if fully employed, as well as any income that the parent would have earned on any non-income producing assets. In evaluating “potential income,” the court examines the parent’s prior earning history, his or her education, his or her special skills and training, the availability of employment in the specific area where the parent resides, and the age and special needs of the children at issue, among other factors. Ultimately, the addition of “potential income” into the child support calculation ensures that the relevant minor children are receiving an appropriate level of financial support from both parents, even if one parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
Health Insurance
Another main input into the child support equation is the actual annual cost incurred by a parent (or both parents, when relevant) to provide health, dental and/or vision insurance (i.e. the premiums) for the children at issue. To the extent the cost for health, dental and vision insurance is incurred for the family, then the family cost is used in the Ohio Child Support Worksheet. In this way, the parent or parents providing health, dental and vision insurance receive(s) credit for his or her payment of this cost when calculating the child support obligation.
For example, if the child support obligor is providing health insurance for the children, then that will lower the resulting child support obligation calculated on the Ohio Child Support Worksheet. Likewise, if the child support obligee is providing health insurance for the children, then that will increase the resulting child support obligation calculated on the Ohio Child Support Worksheet. Ultimately, this ensures that: (1) the relevant minor children have appropriate insurance coverage; and (2) the cost of such coverage is being distributed, in an appropriate fashion, between the parties.
Work-Related Daycare
The final main input into the child support equation is the actual annual cost incurred by a parent (or both parents, when relevant) to provide work-related childcare for the children at issue. Like the cost of health, dental and vision insurance, the parent or parents who is or are incurring the cost receive(s) credit for his or her payment of the same when calculating the child support obligation. Notably, however, the total credit that a parent can receive in the Ohio Child Support Worksheet for this expense is capped based on each minor child’s age.
Need Assistance with Child Support?
The aforementioned merely represent the main inputs into the Ohio Child Support Worksheet, and are not intended to be all-inclusive. Furthermore, despite the presumption of correctness, the child support obligation calculated by the Ohio Child Support Worksheet is simply a starting point for further discussion. To be sure, there are a myriad of circumstances when the obligation calculated by the Ohio Child Support Worksheet is unjust or inappropriate, and not in the best interest of the children. We will discuss those circumstances in more detail in the third installment of this series.
