By Law, One of the Two Parents Must Pay Child Support

Per statute, the non-primary residential parent must pay the primary residential parent the costs of maintaining the child in his or her residence.  These costs are rolled into what is called a “transfer payment.”  The transfer payment is usually due at the beginning of each month.

The transfer payment is based on the child support table, which the Legislature most recently amended in 2010.  The table, based on data and analysis from the social sciences, establishes the proportion of family income that the Legislature has determined each parent can and/or should spend per child. 

To calculate where you fit on this table, you plug in your income and your expenses in one column of the worksheet and the other side’s income and expenses into the other column.  You then come up with a combined monthly net income, find that amount on the table, then determine your presumptive transfer payment.

A court may deviate from the presumptive transfer payment for a number of reasons, the most common reason is that the child spends a significant amount of time with the person making the transfer payment.

One of the two parents is legally required to pay child support even if the parents split custody 50 /50, and even if the person required to pay has never set eyes on the child.  The only exception to this rule is if parental rights have been terminated.