Child Support Guidelines 2020 Casey Forsyth Barber Emerson

Child Support Guidelines 2020 Casey Forsyth, Barber Emerson, L. C.

Why use child support guidelines? ● Court shall follow guidelines ● Worksheet must accompany child support order ● Request to modify support shall include proposed child support worksheet ● Guidelines generate presumptive amount; any deviations must be in

Who is in charge? ● Federal regulations ● State implementation

Federal Focus ● Problem of existing child support arrears ● Trend towards “right sized orders” and “ability to pay”

Federal Focus ● Flexibility, Efficiency & Modernization in Child Support Enforcement Programs ● Focus on ability to pay ● Focus on incarcerated parents ● States obligated to comply

Kansas model ● ● Income shares model Uses economist data to see what parents are spending based on ages of children

Kansas Child Support Guidelines Committee ● Group of attorneys, judges, payor and payee parents, Court Trustees, DCF ● Studies guidelines, submits report to Supreme Court with recommended updates and proposed changes

2020 Kansas Guideline Changes ● ● ● Incarcerated parents Ability to pay Ability to earn Imputing income Parenting time adjustments Notice of adjustments Unreimbursed medical Social Security Updates to forms and schedules ● Updates to treatment of spousal maintenance ● ●

Incarcerated Parents Previous Guidelines: ● Incarceration is no reason to modify child support (Thurmond) ● Other states: suspend by operation of law, amendments to child support guidelines, legislation 2020 Guidelines: ● Incarceration alone is not voluntary unemployment ● Court can consider circumstances surrounding incarceration

Ability to Pay Calculation Previous Guidelines: ● Calculate based on incomes and schedules only, with deviations as approved by court 2020 Guidelines: ● Court must consider ability to pay by comparing income to national poverty guidelines ● Court has discretionary power to consider basic subsistence needs of the payor parent

Federal poverty guidelines ● ● Run child support worksheets as normal Reduce payor’s child support income by the monthly poverty amount to calculate “income available for support” If this amount is greater than support calculated, use lesser amount If income is less, then court has discretion to set in best interest of child

● Example ● Gross income = $800/month Federal Poverty Guidelines for household size of 1 = $1, 041/month ○ Income available for support = - $240 ● Child Support as calculated through worksheet = $93 ● Court will set amount in best interest of child

Ability to Earn Previous Guidelines: ● Court assumes parents earn at least federal minimum wage ● Can impute income 2020 Guidelines: ● To impute income for either party, the court must take into consideration the unique circumstances of the parent and the community

the parents’ assets ● residence ● employment and earnings history, ● job skills ● educational attainment ● literacy ● age ● health ● criminal record and other employment barriers, ● and record of seeking work, as well as the local job market, the availability employers willing to hire the parent, ● prevailing earnings level in the local community, and ● other relevant background factors in the case. . . to the extent known ● If imputing income, Court shall consider:

What are the job opportunities and prevailing earnings outside of Lawrence?

Resources – Department of Labor statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Series Id: ENU 2018550511114 Series Title: Average Annual Pay in Private NAICS 11114 Wheat farming for All establishment sizes in Stafford County, Kansas, NSA State: Kansas Area: Stafford County, Kansas Industry: NAICS 11114 Wheat farming Owner: Private Size: All establishment sizes Type: Average Annual Pay Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Annual 23667 22429 37023 27629 30364 29320 37203 34626 29940 26942 27625

“To the extent known” ● ● ● DRA – much more extensive Discovery Client – any last known information? Online Court must make written findings in support of imputing income

Equal or Nearly Equal Parenting Time Previous Guidelines: ● Equal “or nearly equal” parenting time qualifies ● What is “nearly equal? ” 2020 Guidelines: ● Only equal parenting time qualifies ● If using Equal Parenting Time Formula, parent receiving child support shall pay direct expenses

“We basically share the kids 50/50, do I have to pay child support? ” ● ● ● Husband earns $75, 000; Wife $65, 000 Two kids, 5 and 7 Husband has kids 45% of time, Wife has kids 55% of time

Results Previous Guidelines: ● Have nearly equal parenting time, can use Equal Parenting Time Formula or Shared Expense Plan ● Under Shared Expense formula = H paying $26/month 2020 Guidelines: ● Not exactly equal, only allowed 30% Parenting Time adjustment = H paying $786/month

Parenting Time Adjustments Previous Guidelines ● 35%-39% = 5% ● 40%-44% = 10% ● 45%-49% = 15% 2020 Guidelines ● 35%-39% = 10% ● 40%-44% = 20% ● 45%-49% = 30%

Unreimbursed Medical Expenses Previous Guidelines: ● Must be assessed to parties ● No specific mechanism 2020 Guidelines: ● Specific procedure: keep and timely present receipts ● Court can deny if not followed ● Sanctions if party fails to pay

Requesting Child Support Adjustments Previous Guidelines ● Silent on notice 2020 Guidelines ● Adopts In re Marriage of Fuller ● Adjustments only apply if party seeking adjustment gives notice, in writing, to other party before hearing

Social Security Benefits and Child Support ● ● ● Memorializes existing case law in one place Clarifies where to add this amount on child support worksheet New sanctions for failure to notify of lump sum

Spousal Maintenance Previous Guidelines (and tax law): ● Amount spouse is paying is deducted from income ● Amount spouse is receiving is added to income 2020 Guidelines: ● For all orders entered before 12/31/2018, same as before ● For all orders after: ○ Spousal maintenance must be calculated using federal and state marginal tax rate or using average tax rate of

Updated forms and schedules ● ● ● Support required in age groups growing closer Updates due to Tax Cuts and Jobs Act New “short form” Domestic Relations Affidavit

Big takeaways! ● ● More payor friendly = more benefits to family Greater evidentiary burdens More areas for judicial discretion More work by attorneys and self-represented litigants