posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
Child support in Ohio is based on the income of both parents, as well as other factors. All gross income is included in the computation. “Gross income” includes the total of all earned and unearned income from all sources during a calendar year, whether or not the income is taxable.
For a parent who is employed to full capacity, child support is based upon the gross income of the parent from any and all of the following sources:
Salaries, wages, overtime pay, bonuses, commissions, tips.
Severance pay, pensions.
Royalties.
Rents.
Interest, trust income, annuities, dividends.
Social security benefits, including retirement, disability, and survivor benefits that are not means-tested.
Workers’ compensation benefits.
Unemployment insurance benefits.
Disability insurance benefits.
Income of members of any branch of the U.S. armed services or national guard, including, amounts representing base pay, basic allowance for quarters, basic allowance for subsistence, supplemental subsistence allowance, cost of living adjustment, specialty pay, variable housing allowance, and pay for training or other types of required drills.
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.
Self-generated income, potential cash flow from any source.
And “all other sources of income.”
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
What income does not count?
The child support computation in Ohio does not include monies from any of the following sources:
Benefits received from means-tested government administered programs, including Ohio Works First (OWF or cash welfare)
Prevention, Retention, and Contingency (PRC)
Means-tested veterans’ benefits
Supplemental security income (SSI)
Food stamps
Disability financial assistance
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 U.S. 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 U.S. department of veterans’ affairs or veterans’ administration
Child support received for children who were not born or adopted during the marriage at issue
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 and foster care maintenance payments
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
For a parent who is unemployed or underemployed, child support is based upon the gross income of the parent from any and all sources as well as any potential income of the parent. “Potential income” means the following:
Imputed income that the court determines the parent would have earned if fully employed as determined from the following criteria:
The parent’s prior employment experience
The parent’s education
The parent’s physical and mental disabilities
The availability of employment in the geographic area in which the parent resides
The prevailing wage and salary levels in the geographic area in which the parent resides
The parent’s special skills and training
Whether there is evidence that the parent has the ability to earn the imputed income
The age and special needs of the child for whom child support is being calculated
The parent’s increased earning capacity because of experience
Any other relevant factor
“Potential income” also includes imputed income from any nonincome-producing assets of a parent, as determined from the local passbook savings rate or another appropriate rate as determined by the court.
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
Yes. The child support computation also takes into account the following:
Other children living with a parent
Child support ordered for other children
Spousal support paid to any former spouse
Amount of local income taxes paid
Mandatory work-related deductions
Child care expenses that are work-related, employment training-related, or education-related
Cost of providing health insurance for the children
Non-means-tested benefits, including social security and veterans’ benefits, paid to and received by a child or a person on behalf of the child due to death, disability, or retirement of the parent
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
The court may consider any of the following factors in determining whether to allow a parent to pay less child support than it would otherwise. This is called a “deviation.”
Special and unusual needs of the children
Extraordinary obligations for minor children or obligations for handicapped children who are not stepchildren and who are not offspring from the marriage or relationship that is the basis of the immediate child support determination
Other court-ordered payments
Extended parenting time or extraordinary costs associated with parenting time
The obligor obtaining additional employment after a child support order is issued in order to support a second family
The financial resources and the earning ability of the child
Disparity in income between parties or households
Benefits that either parent receives from remarriage or sharing living expenses with another person
The amount of federal, state, and local taxes actually paid or estimated to be paid by a parent or both of the parents
Significant in-kind contributions from a parent, including, but not limited to, direct payment for lessons, sports equipment, schooling, or clothing
The relative financial resources, other assets and resources, and needs of each parent
The standard of living and circumstances of each parent and the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage continued or had the parents been married
The physical and emotional condition and needs of the child
The need and capacity of the child for an education and the educational opportunities that would have been available to the child had the circumstances requiring a court order for support not arisen
The responsibility of each parent for the support of others
Any other relevant factor
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
Not necessarily. Ohio law presumes that the higher-earning parent will pay child support to the lower-earning parent. The court can reduce the child support order:
(1) if it determines that the guideline amount is unjust or inappropriate to the children or either parent and would not be in the best interest of the child because of the extraordinary circumstances of the parents, such as:
-the amount of time the children spend with each parent
-the ability of each parent to maintain adequate housing for the children
-each parent’s expenses, including child care expenses, school tuition, medical expenses, dental expenses, and any other expenses the court considers relevant
or (2) because of any these deviation factors:
-special and unusual needs of the children
-extraordinary obligations for minor children or obligations for handicapped children who are not stepchildren and who are not offspring from the marriage or relationship that is the basis of the immediate child support determination
-other court-ordered payments
-extended parenting time or extraordinary costs associated with parenting time
-the obligor obtaining additional employment after a child support order is issued in order to support a second family
-the financial resources and the earning ability of the child
-disparity in income between parties or households
-benefits that either parent receives from remarriage or sharing living expenses with another person
-the amount of federal, state, and local taxes actually paid or estimated to be paid by a parent or both of the parents
-significant in-kind contributions from a parent, including, but not limited to, direct payment for lessons, sports equipment, schooling, or clothing
-the relative financial resources, other assets and resources, and needs of each parent
-the standard of living and circumstances of each parent and the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage continued or had the parents been married
-the physical and emotional condition and needs of the child
-the need and capacity of the child for an education and the educational opportunities that would have been available to the child had the circumstances requiring a court order for support not arisen
-the responsibility of each parent for the support of others
-any other relevant factor
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
Yes. A child support order is subject to modification until the child is emancipated. “Emancipation” usually occurs when the child is 18 years old and graduated from high school, but there are some exceptions. In order to obtain a modification, one of the parents must show that there has been a change in the circumstances. A change in circumstances typically occurs when a parent experiences an increase or involuntary decrease in income, but a modification will not be ordered unless the change is significant enough to produce at least a 10% change in the amount of the child support order itself.
posted by Attorney Monaco on Jul 19
The parent who is to receive the support (the “obligee”) can seek legal action in which the non-paying parent (the “obligor”) is found in contempt of court. If the court determines that the obligor is in contempt, the court typically gives the obligor an opportunity to comply with the court order and “purge” the contempt. If the obligor does not do so, the court can impose penalties such as jail time or fines. In addition, the court is to assess all court costs arising out of the contempt proceeding against the obligor and require the obligor to pay any reasonable attorney’s fees of the obligee that arose in relation to the act of contempt.
posted by Attorney Monaco on Aug 22
Yes. There are two circumstances that might result in a child support modification request being denied by the court. (1) A denial may occur when there has not been a big enough change in a parent’s financial circumstances. This typically occurs when a change in one parent’s income is not sufficient enough to change the existing child support order by 10%. (2) A denial may occur when the existing child support order provides that neither parent is obligation to pay child support to the other. However, a modification may occur if the child support order states that the amount is set at zero (instead of stating none at all). This minor wording difference can have a huge legal impact.