Hardin County Child Support: How Much Will I Have to Pay?

There are typically a number of issues that must be resolved in a Hardin County divorce. The amount of child support you will be required to pay if you are the non-custodial parent of a minor child is one of those issues. The amount of child support you will have to pay depends upon a variety of factors. The goal of the courts is to ensure that the children have the same quality of life that they would have if the parents had remained married. However, because the amount of support that you will be required to pay can depend on so many factors, it is important that you hire an experienced Kentucky family law attorney to ensure that you pay a fair amount in child support and that your rights are protected throughout the divorce proceedings.

In Kentucky, child support is determined, at least in part, using the child support worksheet and applying the Kentucky Child Support Guidelines. This takes into account the monthly income of both parents, prior child support obligations, prior spousal maintenance, costs associated with child care and insurance, and other common factors. The income of both parents is combined and a percentage is assigned to each which represents how much of the total monthly income that parent earns. For example, if you earn $4,000 a month and your spouse earns $2,000 a month the total available for the support of your child is $6,000. Your percentage of that total is 0.67 and your spouse’s percentage is 0.33. Therefore, you would presumptively be required to pay 0.67 percent of the amount required for the care and maintenance of your child. If the child support guidelines determine that $1000 is needed for the care of your child, for instance, you would be ordered to pay $670 ($1,000 x 0.67). There are, however, a number of things that can result in a deviation of the presumptive child support amount.

Extraordinary circumstances, which include high educational and/or medical expenses, can impact your child support order. A child’s medical expenses are considered to be extraordinary when they exceed $100 in out of pocket expenses. Both parents will split the cost of the medical expenses based upon their incomes. The portion of the non-custodial parent’s expense will be added to the child support amount is are ordered to be paid.

In the case of extraordinary educational expenses, whether or not both parents agree upon these expenses will determine how much the non-custodial parent must pay. If both parents agree upon these expense they will split the cost according to their relative income. In the event that the parents do not agree upon the educational expense, the courts will take that disagreement into consideration and assign the expense accordingly.

If you are going through a divorce, or have been sued for child support for a child born out of wedlock, consult with an experienced Hardin County child support attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your rights are protected throughout the proceedings.