Once child custody is determined by the court, they must then proceed with the matter of child support. While custody handles which parent the child will spend most of their time with, child support deals with their financial support. Child support is payments that are made by one parent to another in order to continue to care for their child after the couple is divorced. While only one parent maintains physical custody, the other is still required to make payments. Childcare is too expensive for one parent to take care of alone, so the non-custodial parent must pay their own share. These payments made are used only for concerns of the child.
Factors to be Considered
There is not one solution to child support that a court will use for every family case. Every case is treated differently from the previous one. In order to do so, the state created the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines to build a formula that is used to determine child support. The formula considers a number of things before coming to the decision of payment. It pays attention to elements of both the parents’ and child’s lives to come to conclusion about the amount that is due in child support. The guidelines acknowledge the following:
- The financial status of each parent
- Who has physical custody of the child
- Any income, debt, and assets of each parent
- Each parent’s earning capacity
- Each parent’s work history
- The child’s needs
- The child’s age/health
- The child’s education
- The cost of providing for the child
When Does Child Support Stop?
A parent is only required to pay child support until the child reaches a certain age. This may vary depending on the child and the family’s situation. In most cases, the state of New Jersey dictates child support to end when a child turns 19 years old unless a court mandates otherwise. This is subject to change depending on the family. If a child is disabled, a court may mandate payments to continue until a certain age.
Child support payments may also continue if the child decides to seek higher education after the age of 19. College expenses may require the parents to continue their payments if they are capable of doing so. The court may choose for parents to extend these payments until the child graduates from college. Parents may have to continue payments for some of the following reasons:
- The amount of money sought
- The capability of a parent to pay the costs
- The school and course of study
- The child’s commitment
- The child’s finances
- The accessibility of financial aid
- The child’s relationship with both parents
- The financial capacity of the parents
Contact
If you or a family member is seeking representation for a child support case, contact The Radol Law Firm today.
Before taking any sort of legal action, it is important to discuss your legal matter with an experienced attorney. Contact The Radol Law Firm to discuss any divorce and family law matters you may be faced with.