Pittsburgh Child Support

Child support, like spousal support, is also determined by using the Guidelines. The Guidelines are based on the presumption that the child of separated, divorced, or never-married parents should receive the same proportion of parental income that he or she would have received if the parents lived together. ³

In order to determine how much support you will be required to pay or how much you are entitled to receive it is necessary to calculate the monthly gross income of both mother and father. Income includes, but is not limited to, the following:

a. wages, salaries, bonuses, fees, and commissions;

b. net income from business or dealings in property;

c. interest, rents, royalties, and dividends;

a. pensions and all forms of retirement;

e. income from an interest in an estate or trust;

f. Social Security disability benefits, Social Security retirement benefits, temporary and permanent disability benefits, workers' compensation and unemployment compensation; and

g. Alimony.

Once the gross income of both parties is calculated the Court must determine the parties' net income. There are specific deductions that must be subtracted from the total gross income to determine the total net income. Those deductions include:

a. federal, state and local income taxes;

b. Social Security deductions;

c. union dues;

d. non-voluntary retirement contributions; and

e. Alimony that is paid to the other party.

The remaining amount is considered "net income" for purposes of calculating support obligations. If the parties' net income does not exceed $15,000.00 per month the Guidelines will be utilized to determine the support obligation of each party in proportion to their income.

Note: If the parties' monthly net income exceeds $15,000.00 the Guidelines will not applied and a "Melzer" analysis will be necessary. In Melzer cases the Court considers the "reasonable needs" of the children in relation to the parents combined incomes.

The Guidelines take into consideration the reasonable needs of the parties. Reasonable needs include expenses such as rent, utilities, food and other related expenditures. This means that the Court typically does not deduct these expenses from your income when determining how much child support you will receive/pay because they have already been factored into the Guidelines.

It is important to note that the Guidelines are usually strictly applied; however, there are a number of factual situations that may exist which would allow the Court to deviate from the Guidelines. This could result in your support obligation being increased or decreased and it is important to discuss these circumstances with your attorney in order to determine if these issues exist or will affect your particular case.

Example: When the children spend 40% or more of their time during the year with the paying parent, a rebuttable presumption arises that the paying parent is entitled to a reduction in the basic support obligation to reflect this time. The time spent with the children is determined by the number of overnights they spend during the year with the paying parent.

³ Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16.1 see Explanatory Comment "A." regarding Income Shares Model.
⁴ 23 Pa.C.S.A.

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