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Delaware Child Support Formula

Understand the Delaware child support formula in the context of multiple obligations, including factors such as own household, order of support, qualification of children, and more. Learn about limitations, modification, adjustment methods, and self-support protection.

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Delaware Child Support Formula

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  1. Delaware Child Support Formula In the context of Multiple Obligations

  2. Multiple Family Factors Nationwide Which children qualify? • Own household? • Order of support? • Must it be paid? • No order and not in H/H? • Step-children? • All or just pre-born? • # Limitation? Policies: • Dilution of resources; • Disincentive to procreate; • Equitable distribution; • Sustain obligor. Modification: • Is a new child or new order a substantial change of circumstance?

  3. Methods available: • Amount of other orders • Deduction from income • Must it be paid? • All or just pre-born? • Race to the courthouse? • Percentage reduction to: • Gross or net Income? • Only portion of income? • Order itself? • Portion of the order?

  4. Gross Income for each parent minus • Taxes (S-1 for everybody); • Health insurance, pension (up to 3%), union dues, disability insurance and “other”; • Self support allowance (currently $1120/mth) • With no other children, this is the net income each parent has available for child support, BUT if there are other children . . .

  5. Adjustment for the Support of Other Dependent Children • Net income for each parent is adjusted one more time based upon the number of “other” children the parent must support:

  6. Qualifications • Child support order (paid or not); or • Child(ren) live in your household; or • Evidence of a “pattern of support”; but • Step-children are NOT included. Order of birth is irrelevant; under Delaware law all children are equal.

  7. Back to the Formula Having adjusted for “other children”, each is assigned a (%) share for the “Primary” needs of the children: • Primary Support allowance; • Daycare necessary for employment; • Health Ins. allocable to children (new); and • Private school (if found affordable)

  8. Primary Support allowances

  9. Standard of Living Adjustment After each parent is assessed their proportion share of primary support, a percentage (SOLA) is applied to any remaining income:

  10. Credits • Primary & SOLA obligations combine for the Gross Obligation; then each parent retains: • Primary allowance for children in own home; • Daycare, allocable health insurance & private school tuition paid to providers; • Per capita SOLA for children in own home; and • Parenting Time Credit (% based on #overnights). • Gross Obligation minus credits = Net Obligation (i.e. the support order) unless . . .

  11. Self Support Protection(aka Maximum Allowable Obligation) • If the self support allowance = minimum amount necessary for a person to remain productive in the workplace;

  12. Self-Support Protection 2 • And even with the Adjustment for the Support of other Children, multiple orders can push low income obligors far below Self Support allowance;

  13. Self-Support Protection 3 • Then low income obligors with multiple orders are doomed to fail because they lack adequate resources to remain productive.

  14. Self-Support Protection 4 • Percentage of net income (after self support) based upon # of “other children”. • Preserves 80% to 100% self support allowance. • Minimum order rules still apply.

  15. Summary • DE discounts net income to accommodate the needs of other children; • Actual amounts of other orders are irrelevant. • DE gives credit to both obligors and obligees; • DE is not concerned with order of birth; • No credit for step-children; • Birth or adoption of add’l children is a substantial change of circumstances for modification; • For low income obligors, an individual order cannot exceed a certain % of net income.

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