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
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' web site so you can get an idea of
what your child support obligation might be.
http://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms/Forms_List.cfm/Form_Type_ID/94
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.
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 is that they have a large 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
303.944.2960
-
Douglas County
303.814.7145
-
Arapahoe County
303.752.8900
-
Jefferson County
303.271.4300
-
Adams County
303.227.2233
-
Boulder County
303.678.6300
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