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Child Support
When people are getting a divorce or ending a relationship that involves children, typically one of the first questions is, “How much will I have to pay in child support?” (or “How much will I receive in child support?”) In Colorado, child support is determined using statutory guidelines. That means the court plugs certain numbers into a formula to arrive
at the presumptive child support amount. Essentially, the numbers used by the court to determine child support are the monthly gross incomes of each parent, the number of overnights each parent spends with the children, daycare and health insurance expenses for the child paid by each parent. Other “extraordinary” expenses of the child can be factored into the calculation and if one parent pays maintenance to the other parent, that amount is factored into the child support calculation, as well. Other expenses of the parents, such as mortgage, rent, utilities, car payments and food are not factored into the child support calculation. Child support worksheets are available online at the Colorado courts’ website so you can get an idea of what your child support obligation might be:
Colorado State Judicial Branch Forms The statutory child support guidelines are designed for parents with combined gross monthly incomes of no greater than $20,000. If you and your spouse’s combined gross monthly incomes are greater than $20,000, the court can use its discretion when determining child support. It can use the statutory guidelines and calculate your child support as if your combined gross monthly incomes were no more than $20,000 or it can extrapolate beyond the guidelines and use actual combined gross monthly incomes. If the court finds that one parent is earning less than he or she should be earning based on that parent’s abilities, education and employment history, the court can impute an income to that parent for child support purposes that is higher than the income they are actually earning. However, income cannot be imputed to a parent who is the primary custodian of a child under 30 months of age.
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Livin’ The State of Voluntary Unemployment and Underemployment in Colorado Child Support Collection Once the court enters a child support order, the parents may agree, or the court may order, that an income assignment be initiated against the parent paying child support. That means the monthly child support is automatically deducted from the parent’s paycheck and sent to the receiving parent. When one parent does not pay their court-ordered child support, that parent may be found in contempt of court. If a parent is found in contempt of court for not paying child support, he or she may be fined, jailed and ordered to pay the other parent’s attorney’s fees for having to pursue the contempt. A parent may also seek a judgment against the non-paying parent and put a lien on the non-paying parent’s assets and/or garnish his or her bank accounts for child support arrears. A parent may also seek help establishing, modifying or collecting child support through a local governmental child support enforcement agency. Child support enforcement agencies offer services to anyone who applies for assistance. The drawback with these agencies are that they have a high caseload, so assistance from them tends to be slow and, while the agency can assist you, it does not represent you. No attorney-client relationship is established between you and the agency. However, child support enforcement agencies can utilize unique collection remedies not available to attorneys or private individuals. These remedies include suspending a delinquent parent’s driver’s license, intercepting tax refunds and reporting delinquency to credit reporting agencies. Each county has its own child support enforcement agency: Denver County 720-944-2960 Arapahoe County 720-874-8700 Jefferson County 303-271-4300 Adams County 303-227-2233 Modification of child support Child support can be modified upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms of the prior support order unfair. Basically, using the child support guidelines, the proposed new child support amount must be 10% greater or less than the current child support order for child support to be modifiable. Parents can agree to modify child support, but must put the agreement in writing and file it with the court. If the parents cannot agree to modify child support, one parent must seek court intervention by filing a motion to modify child support. | 
