When parents go through a divorce, they still have to take care of the children. This expense shouldn’t fall solely on one parent, so child support orders are issued. Georgia law sets the standard for doing this.
There are several models for determining how much child support must be paid. Georgia uses the income shares model, which is based on the child receiving the same share of the noncustodial parent’s income that they would receive if that parent lived in the home.
How does the income shares model work?
Instead of looking solely at one parent’s earnings, the income shares model considers the income of both parents, typically their gross monthly income. This is based on all sources of income, including salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, self-employment and gig work. Certain deductions from that total, such as support for other children, are removed from the total.
After each parent’s income is determined, they’re added together. That figure and the number of children involved are the factors that determine a basic amount of that total income that the parents would spend if they were sharing one household.
Next, the court determines the percentage of the total income that belongs to each parent. Then, the child support obligation is divided between the parents based on those percentages. The court can also take the percentage of parenting time each parent has when determining the final child support obligation for each parent.
In some cases, the basic child support obligation isn’t all that’s considered. Georgia’s guidelines also consider other specific child-related costs like health insurance premiums and work-related childcare expenses.
Ultimately, judges who are setting child support orders have to consider what’s best for the children. They have some leeway to deviate from the guidelines when it’s warranted. Parents who are going through a divorce involving children should discuss their case with someone familiar with child support calculations so they know what to expect and learn what the court will consider in their case.