Child support can be a contentious area in divorce, paternity cases and family law that can continue to be an issue for years to come. Our child support attorneys at Martin & Wagner, P.A., offer realistic solutions based on your unique situation and the child support guidelines set forth by Minnesota law. We help you understand how child support is calculated and we work hard to ensure the best possible result for your case.
There are 3 parts to child support.
** Basic Child support DOES NOT specifically include sports and extracurricular activities!
MInnesota Child Support Law Changed
The new Minnesota Child Support laws went into effect on August 1, 2018. The laws for child support in Minnesota have undergone many changes in the last twelve years so your case may be very different compared to your friends or neighbor’s case.
The Child Support Cliff is Gone
Until August 1, 2018, Minnesota Child Support laws were operating with three different levels of child support. A parent with less than 10% parenting time received no discount for parenting time and paid full child support. A parent with parenting time between 10.1% and 45% parenting time received a 12% discount in child support payments in consideration for parenting time. The range between 10.1% and almost equal is huge in terms of parenting time but those parents paid the same amount of child support. The unfair result was a parent with a few parenting time overnights per month paid the same amount of child support as a parent with almost equal parenting time.
New Basic Child Support Laws
The new laws did not affect how we calculate medical support and daycare support, they only applied to basic support. Effective August 1, 2018, the child support calculation takes every single overnight into consideration, including holidays and vacations. It also considers different parenting time schedules for different children. It is intended to create a more gradual change in child support and credit each parent for every single overnight the children are in a parent’s care.
Calculating the correct number of overnights to include holidays and vacations can be complicated and the online calculator will not help you with this task. Please contact one of our experienced and knowledgeable family law attorneys to determine if the new changes could affect your case.
What Did Not Change
Minnesota child support guidelines utilize the income-based formula to calculate child support. The guidelines consider several factors that affect child support, including: how many minor children are involved, each parent’s gross income, the number of non-joint children in either home, the cost of medical and dental insurance for your children, the cost of child care (if any) for your children, and the amount of parenting time for each parent (except now we count overnights instead of using parenting time ranges). In addition to child support, the income-based formula allocates a percentage of income for child support purposes (PICS) to be used when determining each parent’s portion of out-of-pocket costs for medical, dental, vision, orthodontia, etc. expenses.
We work closely with you to help you understand how each of the guideline factors effect the formula for your situation. We feel it is most important that you have a clear understanding of what you will be either paying or receiving to care for your children.
Child Supoort Modifications
Every situation is different and the new law decreases current child support for some parents, increases it for others and has little to no effect on some cases.
If your change in circumstances (or applying the new law) would increase or decrease your child support by 20% and $75.00 per month, you can request a child support modification. Please feel free to contact our office to find out how to change the child support you pay, or the child support you receive.
Contact our family law attorneys at Martin & Wagner, P.A. by e-mail or call 763-425-6330 to schedule a free ½ hour consultation with an experienced Rogers, Minnesota, child support lawyer.
From our Rogers law office, we provide legal representation to clients throughout the Greater Twin Cities area including, but not limited to, Albertville, Andover, Anoka, Buffalo, Elk River, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Monticello, Ramsey, and St. Michael and other communities within Hennepin County, Stearns County, Wright County, Sherburne County, and Anoka County.
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763-425-6330