AT THE LAW OFFICE OF TARA KILBY OUR FOCUS IS FAMILY LAW

Child Support in Arizona is based almost entirely on a formulaic equation created by the Child Support Guidelines Project of the National Center for State Courts, which have been approved by the Arizona Supreme Court. Arizona child support is determined by utilizing the following factors:

• Each parent’s gross monthly income
• The number of children
• Support for any other children of either parent
• Cost of the child’s medical, dental and vision premiums
• Childcare costs
• Education expenses
• Extraordinary needs for a handicapped or disabled child
• Parenting time days
• Special needs expenses
• Increased expenses for children age twelve and over

The totality of this information is input into a child support calculation software, which determines who is the payor of child support and the amount to be paid to the payee.

However, in some situations child support is much more complex than simply inputting information into the software and the result can be significantly financially impactful to both the payor and the payee. For example, if a party is self-employed it is important that the correct income is utilized for the calculation. If one party earns a significant bonus, stock options and over-time income, these factors can significantly impact the amount of support to be paid. If there are special needs children, the costs to address their needs must be calculated. If the incorrect number of parenting times days are calculated, this factor may substantially affect the amount of child support to be paid. If the payor has a high-income, there are additional factors that the payor must be aware of which will affect his or her payment of child support. These and other factors should be discussed with an experienced Attorney prior to calculating support to assure that you are paying or receiving the appropriate amount of child support.