Massachusetts Child Support

Child Support Guidelines and Deviations

The number which is calculated on the worksheet is statutorily presumed to be the proper amount of child support a court should order, and it is referred to as the “presumptive” amount. Before ordering a lower or higher amount of child support, a court must make specific findings that ordering the presumptive amount of child support would be unjust or inappropriate and that a deviation is in the child’s best interests. Some of the reasons a court may depart from the presumptive number are:

• the parties agree to a child support amount different from the presumptive amount and the court finds their agreement to be fair and reasonable;
• a child has ongoing special needs or aptitudes with financial consequences;
• a child has ongoing extraordinary mental, physical, or developmental needs with financial consequences;
• a parent has ongoing extraordinary mental, physical, or developmental needs with financial consequences;
• a parent has extraordinary expenses for health care coverage;
• a parent has extraordinary travel or other expenses related to parenting time;
• a parent has extraordinary child care costs for the children covered by this order;
• a parent provides substantially less than one-third of the parenting time for a child or children;
• a parent provides substantially more than one-third and less than one-half of the parenting time for a child or children;
• the child or children have more than two legal parents;
• the payor is incarcerated and has insufficient financial resources to pay support;
• application of the Guidelines, particularly in low income cases, leaves a parent without the ability to self support;
• application of the Guidelines would result in a gross disparity in the standard of living between the two households such that one household is left with an unreasonably low percentage of the combined available income;
• application of the Guidelines may adversely impact reunification of a parent and child where the child has been temporarily removed from the household in accordance with G.L. c. 119; or
• absent deviation, application of the Guidelines would lead to an order that is unjust, inappropriate, or not in the best interests of the child.

Child support orders are always modifiable by the Court if there has been a material change in circumstances, including changes in available health care coverage, or if there is an inconsistency between the current child support order and the order that would result from application of the Guidelines. A court will not approve an agreement that purports to permanently fix the child support amount.

How is “income” determined under the Guidelines?

Income is defined very broadly under the Guidelines as “gross income from whatever source, regardless of whether that income is recognized by the Internal Revenue Code.” As such, it is much more than the typical income sources that come to mind (salaries, wages, bonuses, commissions, rental income and income from self-employment) and is not necessarily the same as what the IRS considers to be income. The list is too exhaustive to include here, but some examples include: distributions from trusts, perquisites and in-kind compensation, capital gains income, spousal support from a prior spouse, life insurance, lottery proceeds, and gambling winnings. It is important to note that the gross income is the amount used – not the net income after deductions for taxes, retirement, etc.

A common question is whether overtime income or income from a second job is included in the support question. The answer is “maybe,” depending on whether there is a history of such income being earned, the expectation that the income will continue, the economic needs of the parties and children, whether the job requires overtime, and whether the job impacts the parenting schedule. A court can decide to include some, none, or all of overtime income or income from a second job. However, if the payor obtained the second job or began to work overtime after the court entered a child support order, then there is a presumption that such income should not be included in the calculation of a future child support order.

What if a person is capable of working but is voluntarily not working, or is voluntarily working less than they could be? The court has the authority to attribute income to that person; in other words, in the child support calculation, the court will use the amount of income which it finds the person is capable of earning rather than the income that person is actually earning.

What if a person has income, or other income-like benefits, that they are not reporting? For example, a self-employed person might pay personal expenses through the business, or a person might receive expense reimbursements from their employer. The court will impute those dollars as income when calculating child support.

When does child support end?

Child support will end when the child is “emancipated” as that term is defined in G.L. c. 208, § 28. A court may order child support to be paid for a child who has graduated from high school but not yet reached age 21 if that child is still domiciled in a parent’s home and is principally dependent upon said parent for maintenance. For children over age 21 but under age 23, the court may still order child support to be paid if that child is still domiciled in a parent’s home and is principally dependent upon said parent for support due to the child’s enrollment in an educational program (excluding costs beyond an undergraduate degree).