New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines – August 1, 2013

The Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines have been revised and went into effect on August 1, 2013.

You may read the official document:  Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines.

1.    If you have two or more children, there will be a slight upward adjustment in the amount of child support paid.  The adjustment will remain the same for one child.

2.    Income will be attributed to a spouse if the court determines that the spouse could be employed, or is underemployed and could be earning more.

3.    Modification of a child support order will occur when there is a deviation between the child support order and what the level of child support should be under the new Child Support Guidelines.

4.    Where the non-custodial parent has the children more than one third of the time but less than 50 percent of the time, the court may adjust the level of child support up or down to reflect that parent’s increased involvement with the children.  Under the old Child Support Guidelines that went into effect in 2009, the court determined the level of child support based on the parenting arrangement.  In other words, the parent that had the children at least two thirds of the time was the recipient of child support.  Under the new Child Support Guidelines, there is more flexibility to consider how much time a parent spends with the children and to adjust child support accordingly.

5.    Child support is not tax deductible to the payor, and is non-taxable to the recipient.  The new Child Support Guidelines permit the Court to consider the consequences of alimony, which is tax deductible to the payor and is taxable income to the recipient.  The parties can allocate how much of a support order is for child support and how much of it is for alimony, as long as the tax consequences are explained to the court.

6.    The parties can deviate up or down from the strict Child Support Guidelines, depending upon the particular needs of the parties, which would include health, unusual expenses and the needs of the children.

7.    In another new change, a child support order can be modified if health insurance that was previously available, is no longer available; or if available, is no longer at a reasonable cost.  It will be interesting to see how this issue is litigated in view of the requirement by Massachusetts and the federal Affordable Care Act, requiring all adults to carry health insurance.

There are many other changes in the New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines.  Call my office to discuss how these wills affect your situation.