Key takeaways
- Child support calculations aren’t one-size-fits-all and depend on the unique facts affecting you, the other parent and your child.
- Child support calculations depend on your family’s finances, needs and amount of parenting time each parent receives.
- Income used to calculate child support includes wages and other sources of income that you and the other parent receive.
- Nonpayment of child support could result in penalties or even jail time in rare cases.
- Typical child support obligations last until a child turns 19, but legal emancipation could reduce the duration of an obligation, and a child’s disability or an agreement between parents could extend an obligation.
What factors are considered when calculating Colorado child support?
Financial planning is rarely fun, but it’s necessary when you have kids. And if you don’t live with your child’s other parent, a big part of your financial plan is knowing how much child support you might receive or might have to pay. Like childcare needs, child support payments in Colorado aren’t one-size-fits-all. Colorado child support laws set out intricate guidelines for calculating a parent’s child support obligations, and these guidelines rely on the specific facts of each parent and child’s life. If you want to know what factors might affect your child support rights or obligations, take a look at our article below.
The Basics of Child Support in Colorado
When parents in Colorado share a minor child but don’t live together, at least one parent owes the other child support. In general, child support obligations last until the child turns 19 or is legally emancipated (e.g., through marriage or military service). A child support order may last after a child turns 19 if:
- The parents agree in writing to continued payment
- The child has a mental or physical disability that warrants further support
- The child hasn’t graduated from high school (unless the child is over 21)
Child support payments may have a significant financial impact on a parent, but they must be paid. If you or the other parent fails to fulfill their support obligations, a court might:
- Impose a fine
- Suspend a professional license
- Impose a prison sentence
- Place a hold on a passport
- Suspend a driver’s license
- Intercept tax refunds
- Suspend an occupational license
- Withhold wages to use towards the money owed (known as garnishing wages)
- Suspend a recreational license
- Garnish workers’ compensation or unemployment benefits
- Seize a bank account
- Submit a negative credit report
Understanding your rights and obligations regarding child support might help you avoid the above penalties and ensure that you receive full and timely payments from the other parent.
Under Colorado family law, the courts take the following into consideration when calculating child support:
- The standard of living the child had while the parents were still together
- The amount of time each parent has with the child
- Each parent’s financial needs
- The child’s financial resources
- Each parent’s financial resources
- The child’s financial needs
- The child’s physical and emotional health
We break these factors down into more detail below.
Factors affecting child support in Colorado
The Colorado child support guidelines aim to create a fair and consistent approach to child support. With these factors, the law seeks to ensure that each child’s needs are met while considering both parents’ financial situations.
Parental income
The primary factor in determining child support is the income of each parent. And the court combines the income of both parents to make several child support determinations. Each parent’s income might include:
- Wages
- Salaries
- Bonuses
- Tips
- Dividends
- Commissions
- Rental income
- Annuities
- Severance pay
- Pensions
- Workers’ compensation benefits
- Capital gains
- Retirement benefits
- Disability insurance benefits
- Insurance proceeds
- Gifts
- Income from business ownership
- Money prizes
- Interest
- Trust income
- Unemployment insurance benefits
- Royalties
- Social security benefits
The court looks at a parent’s gross income, which is the total income before taxes and other deductions. And the court might exclude overtime wages if an employer doesn’t require the parent to work overtime. However, if the court believes that you or the other parent is unemployed or underemployed by choice, it might calculate your income according to what you could be earning.
Pro tip: If you think your partner is seeking underemployment to avoid child support, review their education, work capabilities, and work history so you have a clear case to present to the court if it becomes necessary.
Parenting time
The amount of time each parent spends with their child affects the support calculation. If one parent has the child for a significant amount of time, their financial responsibilities might be adjusted to reflect this.
Number of children
The amount of child support you pay or receive also depends on the number of children that require support. Generally, having more children means a higher total child support obligation, although the increase isn’t necessarily proportional. And parents who earn $650 or less per month may not see an increase in their monthly support obligation, even if they have multiple children.
Health insurance and medical expenses
The cost of health insurance premiums (medical, dental and vision) for the child, as well as many out-of-pocket medical expenses exceeding $250, factor into the support amount. If you or your spouse is on a group plan and can’t easily determine what portion of the insurance premium belongs to your child, the court might divide your premium payments by the number of people on the plan.
Pro tip: Speak to the benefits advisor at your workplace or the insurance representative for your coverage. They may give you a more accurate idea of how much of your insurance premiums cover your child.
Childcare expenses
Childcare expenses, such as daycare or babysitting services that allow a parent to work or attend school, are also included in the calculation. And if either parent receives a childcare credit on their taxes, the court subtracts that credit from the cost of childcare.
Existing support obligations
If either parent has other child support obligations, the court might deduct these amounts from the parent’s gross income before calculating the new support payment. This helps ensure that all children receive fair support.
The court also adds spousal support to a receiving parent’s income and subtracts it from a paying parent’s income. However, the amount added or subtracted may be adjusted to take into account any tax obligations or deductions associated with the support.
Pro tip: Consult a tax professional before and during your case. They can help you identify what tax deductions and liabilities should apply to the income in your case and help ensure that the court makes appropriate calculations.
Extraordinary expenses
A child may have special needs, or their parents might choose to include their child in special programs or activities. If this is the case for your child, the court may add extraordinary expenses to the basic child support amount in your case. These costs may include:
- Special education expenses
- Private education expenses
- Transportation expenses
The child’s standard of living
A parent’s “basic” child support obligation depends on the type of life the child lived before the divorce. This is also called the child’s standard of living. When calculating a parent’s child support obligations, the court might consider:
- Whether the child attended private schools before the divorce
- The amount of money the parents spent on food and clothing for the child
- How often the parents took vacations with the child
- How much the parents spent on vacations with the child
- Whether the parents spent money on extracurricular activities for the child
Through its orders, the Colorado family court system might seek to maintain these standards for a child after their parents’ divorce.
The financial resources of the child
If a child has a trust fund, has received a substantial inheritance or has significant savings, a family court may consider these resources before calculating child support. However, if parents have enough income to cover their child’s financial needs without pulling from the child’s resources, the court may decline to adjust the child support obligation according to the child’s finances.
How an attorney can help
After reviewing the above information, you might be thinking that calculating child support means a lot of math, research and paperwork. That could be the case for your child support matter. You may handle this work on your own, or you may seek the help of an attorney.
A family law attorney can determine which parent will be liable for child support in your case and estimate the amount of child support. The attorney can also identify which factors to highlight when claiming child support on your behalf or defending you against a child support claim.
Sources:
Enforcing Orders | Colorado Child Support Services (state.co.us); Frequently Asked Questions | Colorado Child Support Services (state.co.us)
JDF 1822 – Child Support Guidelines (state.co.us)
