What types of income go into child support calculations in a Louisville divorce? Every parent in Kentucky carries a legal obligation to provide for their children’s needs including the basics of food, clothing and shelter as well as health care and an education.
Will there be child support in your divorce case? If each of the co-parents have relatively equal income and parenting time is to be equally divided child support may not be an issue in your divorce. However, if there is any disparity in the incomes of the co-parents and/or the amount of time each child will spend with each of their parents after the divorce child support must be addressed.
The question of child support in a divorce begins with Kentucky’s guideline child support calculator. Many types of income go into child support calculations and the calculator will ask for each party to provide information regarding all forms of income, including, but not limited to:
- Wages, salaries, tips
- Commissions, bonuses and other forms of incentives or compensation
- Income from a business or self-employment
- Investment income from any source (real estate, stock portfolios, etc.)
- Benefits from a variety of sources such as Social Security, disability, unemployment
Other types of income go into child support calculations such as annuities, regular payments from any source (re-payment of a personal loan to a family member or friend), family trusts, or other regular source of potential income.
It is important to note there is a significant difference between the way income is reported to or realized by the IRS or a Kentucky tax agency and how it is reported in the state calculator. Many deductions available to business owners and those who are self-employed on their taxes are not available as part of the guideline child support calculator.
The Court may choose to “impute” income (assign an amount which a person should be earning) when a person is unable or unwilling to work. The amount of any imputed income is usually based on an amount the Court believes to be reasonable based upon their education, work history and potential earnings.
In short, many types of income go into child support calculations in a Louisville divorce. This must be balanced with the amount of time each parent will spend with each child. To learn more about your unique circumstances we invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.
