Child Support

Each parent has an obligation to provide support for his or her children. Children of divorced parents have the right to be supported in accordance with the standard of living they had during their parents’ marriage. Typically, the non-residential parent pays child support to the residential parent. This is based on the theory that the parent with whom a child or children is living is already paying his or her share by virtue of the child or children living in the home.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has adopted Child Support Guidelines. They are used to calculate how much each parent must pay, and are based on the parents’ combined net income. They take into consideration the parenting time arrangement, each child’s age, and other child-related obligations. When calculating child support payments, alimony is added to the income of the parent receiving the payment and deducted from the income of the parent paying it. That is done because the guidelines try to have each parent contribute in proportion to his or her own income, including any alimony received.

Paying for Your Child's Medical Expenses
In many instances, where one parent is able to obtain medical insurance through his or her employer without cost to that parent, the child or children will be carried on that policy. Where medical insurance premiums are not paid by an employer, the parents share the costs in proportion to their incomes. Parents also share uncovered medical expenses in the same proportion, less the first $250 per year per child.