Okmulgee, Oklahoma child support law embodies the concept that both parents should contribute to the upkeep of their children. When a divorce happens, parents tend to disagree a lot, and these disagreements may spill over to amounts of child support each parent should pay.
Calculating Oklahoma Child Support
The law is aware of the friction between spouses as they part ways. There are guidelines set out in Oklahoma statutes that determine how much each parent should pay for the upkeep of their child. Online calculators make it easy to determine the child support due from each parent.
Here is a breakdown of how those calculators determine child support amounts.
1. The adjusted gross income of the two parents is added together. (See Okla. Stat. tit. 43 § 118B.)
Gross income is calculated as follows:
• obtaining information about the average salary earned by each of the parents in the last three years, or
• the actual amount made each week by each of the parents, or
• the lowest wage earned hourly for a 40-hour work week, or
• the amount the court states a person of the same educational background, training, and experience as the parent could earn.
• For self-employed parents, the adjusted gross income is what they earn minus what they spend to run the business.
2. The court then considers how many other children are being supported.
3. The time the child spends with each parent is also considered. The court looks at the number of overnights each child spends with each parent.
4. The other support payments a parent might be making, including alimony and additional child support, is taken into account.
5. The court considers daycare costs as well as dental and medical insurance premiums that a parent pays.
Using the information collected, the court determines the amount each parent should contribute to the upkeep of the child.
Can Child Support Adjustments Be Made?
Adjustments can be made to the calculated child support if a parent spends more than 121 nights with any child over a given 12-month period.
Also, if the parent spends differing amounts of time with each of the children, the average time spent with the children over 12 months is used to adjust child support payments.
When physical custody is split, each parent qualifies for an adjustment in parenting time.
(See Okla. Stat. tit. 43 § 118E)
Adjustments can also be made if they will serve the child’s best interests. However, no changes can be made that leave the custodial parent unable to cater for the basic needs of the child such as adequate housing, food, and clothing.
Typically, deviations from the child support guidelines are allowed when there are extraordinary medical needs not covered by insurance. The law does not expect any one parent to bear the burdens of special medical needs.
Also, if one parent suffers a severe illness that impairs their ability to earn or faces extreme financial hardships such as losing their job, they can request adjustments to child support amounts.
(See Okla. Stat. tit. 43 § 118H)
Are you facing a situation regarding child support calculations? The above guidelines are a general overview. Your unique case requires the attention of a legal expert. An expert in Okmulgee law can answer all your questions and address all your concerns regarding child support or any other matter related to your divorce.
Low-cost Consultation: Okmulgee Child Support Attorney
Reach out for a confidential, initial no-cost consultation with an Okmulgee family law attorney by calling 918-756-9600 or toll-free at 1-888-Wirth-Law.
Or enter your legal question or concern in the form at the top right of this page, and one of our child support attorneys will email or call you.
