Everything You Wanted To Know About Child Support
Everything you wanted to know about child support but were afraid to ask is right here. Just about. Putting everything in would fill books. Maybe, this should be called a quick look at what you need to know about child support. Anyway, here goes.
If a child’s parents are separated from each other, chances are that a child support order is either in place or can be put in place. Child support may also be ordered when the parents are in divorce, dissolution of marriage, paternity and legal separation cases. A child support award can originate or be modified through the county’s Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA), domestic relations court or juvenile court. In Medina County, child support is usually awarded in the Medina County Domestic Relations Court. Summit County is the same, as it also has moved all of its parentage and/or paternity cases to the Summit County Domestic Relations Court. A Summit County attorney or Medina County attorney would file for child support in domestic relations court, regardless of whether the case was a dissolution, divorce or paternity action. However, Wayne County has not moved its parentage and/or paternity cases to domestic relations court. A Wayne County attorney would file for child support in Wayne County Juvenile Court in a paternity action. That same Wayne County attorney would still file for child support in Wayne County Domestic Relations Court in a divorce or dissolution.
Who pays child support? Usually, the parent designated as the non-residential parent pays child support. Sometimes, the parent with the greater income pays child support. Sometimes, the parents have the child for nearly equal amounts of time and their incomes are nearly equal, resulting in no child support.
About Child Support Calculations By CSEA And Courts
How does the court or CSEA calculate child support? They start with a dizzying table of combined incomes and number of children that takes up a number of pages in the Ohio Revised Code. For those of you who like to look things up, it can be found under R.C. 3119.01 and R.C. 3119.021. It does not end there. Elsewhere in the code, the legislature put together a formula that considers local income tax, child or spousal support orders paid or received, daycare costs, and the cost of medical insurance for the child.
Why pay for health insurance for the child when one of the parents can get it for free through the state? For years, there was some truth to this. In 2008, Ohio child support law requires the child to be covered by health insurance and for the costs to be addressed through the child support order. If one parent has affordable health insurance, that parent will be ordered to pay for and provide health insurance for the child. The cost of insuring the child, otherwise known as the marginal cost of health insurance, will be included in the child support calculation. If that parent does not provide the health insurance or if there is no health insurance to begin with, that parent must pay an extra amount of child support called cash medical support. The purpose of cash medical support is to pay for the uncovered health care costs of a child, whether paid for by the other parent, a public agency. Cash medical support is only charged when private health insurance is not being carried for the child.
About Child Support Collections
How is child support collected? Payments are made through the Ohio Child Support Payment Central (OCSPC) in Columbus, usually through a wage withholding order. Administration and enforcement is handled through the local CSEA. Medina County orders are handled through the Medina County Child Support Enforcement Agency. Summit County orders are handled through the Summit County Child Support Enforcement Agency. Wayne County orders are handled through the Wayne County Child Support Enforcement Agency.
About Child Support Duration
How long does child support last? Child support continues until the child is eighteen years old and no longer attending high school, but not beyond the age of nineteen. If the child has a disability, this time period can be extended.
About Child Support Connection to Visitation
Can a parent deny visitation if child support is not paid? No. Parenting time and child support orders are independent of each other and not connected. Can a parent stop paying child support if the other parent withholds visitation? No, for the same reason.
Other Articles About Child Support
To read more, click on the following links to my other articles on divorce and dissolution: is Ohio spousal support counted as alimony by the IRS, the end of alimony in Ohio, the end of child support in Ohio, calculating alimony in Ohio, minimum amount of child support in Ohio, imputed income for Ohio child support, Ohio child support terms, choosing between divorce and dissolution in Ohio, Ohio divorce and taxes, and making that Ohio child support number change without a change in income. Attorney Gigiano’s hard work has resulted in highly successful results for many of his clients, as reflected in the following links to his reviews: Daniel Gigiano reviews; Daniel Gigiano ratings; works of Daniel Gigiano; and Daniel Gigiano work.
Get A Trial Lawyer Who Knows About Child Support On Your Side
