What factors are considered when determining child support in NJ?

At Levine and Levine, we know that child support is almost always a sticky issue between Morris County parents that are no longer living together. While some parents are able to overcome their differences and make the best out of a difficult situation, sometimes the parent that has been ordered to pay child support does not want to comply, or simply doesn’t have the funds to fulfill his or her responsibilities.

There are many factors that come into play in regards to child support in New Jersey. Although there are laws in place that govern the formula for determining child support in the state, there are several things that the court will look at when it decides on the amount of child support a parent will pay.

Some of those factors include the cost of health insurance, tuition for schooling, how much daycare costs if the custodial parent works, the amount of joint income between the two parents and each parents’ employment status.

As far as determining the monthly amount of child support payments, essentially it is based on the amount of gross income both parents have and how much on average they spend on their children. However, according to NJChildSupport.org, the amount of gross income is determined by several things and not solely on the parents’ wages or salary. Other factors include bonuses and royalties, life insurance or interest from a trust, workers’ compensation and net gambling winnings, to name just a few.

If you would like to learn more about how child support works in New Jersey, then please visit our page on child support.

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