Legally Speaking

Child support is defined as money paid by a parent for the financial support of a minor child. It may include medical, dental and educational expenses. In general, child support is based upon the following three factors: the parent’s income; the time a child spends with each parent; and whether a parent is supporting other children.

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families issues child support guidelines to Wisconsin courts for setting child support payment amounts. The guidelines are based on the belief that both parents are responsible for supporting a child, whether or not the parents live together.

In a situation where one parent has primary placement of a child and cares for that child more than 75 percent of the time, the parent with secondary placement of the child will pay 17 percent of his or her gross income as child support. That percentage guideline increases based upon the number of children as follows: 17 percent of gross income for one child; 25 percent of gross income for two children; 29 percent of gross income for three children; 31 percent of gross income for four children; 34 percent of gross income for five children or more.

In a situation where parents have shared placement of a child(ren), child support is based upon the amount of time that each parent has the child(ren) and the gross monthly income of each parent. Shared placement means that the child(ren) lives with each parent at least 25% of the time. The time with each parent may or may not be equal.

The child support guidelines do include adjustments for low-income payers, high-income payers and serial family cases, where a parent supports more than one family.

A person’s gross income for purposes of child support is all income and earnings from all sources. The income may or may not be taxable. Income can be in the form of money, property or services; including but not limited to wages, salaries, tips, capital gains, worker’s compensation or other personal injury awards, unemployment benefits, voluntary contributions to retirement plans, military allowances and veteran’s benefits. Additionally, the Court may consider a person’s “ability to earn” if it is determined that person is shirking and not working up to his or her earning potential.

About 75 percent of child support is collected through withholding, or direct debit from a person’s paycheck or other income source. Child support is then sent to the recipient parent in one of two ways – direct deposit or through a debit card system.

If you have questions about child support that you are currently paying or receiving, or whether or not a child support order would be indicated in your specific situation, you should contact an attorney to discuss all considerations involved in this area of the law.

This column is based on general legal principles of Wisconsin law, is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide legal advice. Each legal matter must be judged on the merits of its unique circumstances. If you have a legal problem, consult an attorney.

Jennifer Hobart is an attorney at Pinkert Law Firm LLP with offices in Sturgeon Bay and Sister Bay. 920.743.6505 or 920.854.2616.