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QUESTION: Let’s
assume that a spouse moves
out of a marital residence
leaving the other partner
with the children born of
the marriage. The parties
have equal incomes. The
spouse who left the marital
residence moved into an
apartment across town. Can
the spouse who is living
with the two children file
for child support?
ANSWER: Yes. The
Complaint would be filed in
the local Domestic Relations
office. In Westmoreland
County, this office is
located in the Westmoreland
County Courthouse.
QUESTION: What will
happen once that Complaint
is filed?
ANSWER: Domestic
Relations will set up a
conference in its office.
Both parties will be
courtordered to appear
before a conference officer.
Each party will be required
to bring documentation to
show proof of income, such
as pay stubs and the last
federal tax return filed.
QUESTION: Once this
information is presented,
how will the child support
be determined?
ANSWER: The Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania has
enacted statewide rules for
the governance of all
support matters. Child
support is determined
pursuant to support
guidelines, which are based
upon income shares. Every
four years, these guidelines
are
reviewed and revised. The
last revision took place on
January 27, 2006.
Once each party presents its
documentation, the
conference officer will make
a determination as to each
party’s net income. Once the
net incomes are calculated,
the conference officer will
then add the parties’ net
income together, go to the
chart in the guidelines, and
find the monthly support
amount needed to raise that
child. The party living
outside the residence will
then pay his or her
proportional share of the
amount shown in the chart.
That party’s proportional
share is determined by
dividing his or her net
income by the total combined
income of both parties.
QUESTION: Do the
support guidelines address
child care?
ANSWER: Yes. In
addition to the monthly
child support, the party
living outside the marital
residence will be
responsible to pay the same
proportional share of the
parties’ total combined
income toward reasonable
child care expenses. Under
recently revised
guidelines, if the party
living outside the marital
residence has child care
expenses while the children
spend time with him or her,
that party may also offset
his or her child care
expenses with those of the
party filing the Complaint.
The child care expenses will
be reduced by any amount of
federal child tax credit
available to the eligible
parent, whether or not that
parent actually claims the
credit.
QUESTION: Are there
any other items that could
be included on a child
support order?
ANSWER: Yes. Health
insurance, unreimbursed
medical expenses, private
school and tuition, and
mortgage payment on the
marital residence may also
be included in a child
support order. If a child
support order is entered,
the party who has the order
will be
responsible for the first
$250 of unreimbursed medical
costs not covered by health
insurance for each child,
each year. After the first
$250 is exhausted, any
amounts still owing on
unreimbursed medical bills
will once again be split in
proportion to the parties’
net incomes.
A person who pays for health
insurance will generally be
entitled to a credit off of
the child support order. An
excessively high mortgage
payment on the marital
residence may warrant an
amount to be added on the
child support order. An
excessively high mortgage is
when the party residing in
the marital residence with
the children has a payment
that exceeds 25% of that
person’s income, including
wages and all support paid.
QUESTION: What if the
party who moved out has
other children?
ANSWER: The
guidelines treat all
children equally. When there
are children to multiple
families, each family’s
child support obligation
must be determined. If the
total child support
obligations exceed 50% of
the responsible party’s
income, each order will be
reduced so that no more than
50% is ordered.
Bononi & Bononi, P.C., a
partnership of Michele
Bononi, Esq., and Eric
Bononi, Esq., CPA, offers a
full range of both legal and
accounting services. For
further information, visit
www.bononiandbononi.com.
The firm is located at 20
North Pennsylvania Ave.,
Suite 201, Greensburg, PA
15601.
Phone: 724-832-2499; Fax:
724-836-0370;
E-Mail:
Eric@bononiandbononi.com
or
Michele@bononiandbononi.com.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2006 by Bononi &
Bononi, P.C.
Note: This article
is provided as a public
service and is not intended
to be used as legal advice
or counseling for any
specific cases. If you have
questions regarding a
specific legal case, please
contact a licensed attorney.
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