COMMONWEALTHOFMASSACHUSETTS ADMINISTRATIVEOFFICE OFTHETRIALCOURT CHILDSUPPORTGUIDELINES Preamble TheseguidelinesshalltakeeffectonJanuary1,2009andshallbeappliedtoallchildsupportordersand judgmentsenteredaftertheeffectivedate.Thereshallbearebuttablepresumptionthattheseguidelinesapplyinallcases establishingormodifyingachildsupportorder. Existingordersandjudgmentslessthanthreeyearsoldasoftheeffective dateoftheseguidelinesshallnotbemodifiedunlesstheincomeofoneorbothpartieshaschangedorothernew circumstancewarrantsmodification.

InrecognitionofthepriorityoftheinterestsofthechildrenoftheCommonwealth,thesechildsupportguidelines areformulatedtobeusedbythejustices oftheTrialCourt,whethertheparentsofthechildrenaremarriedorunmarried, insettingtemporary,permanentorfinalordersforcurrentchildsupport,indecidingwhethertoapproveagreementsfor childsupport,andindecidingcasesthatarebefore thecourttomodifyexistingorders.Theguidelinesareintendedtobe ofassistancetomembersofthebarandtolitigantsindeterminingwhatlevelofpaymentwouldbeexpectedgiventhe relativeincomelevelsoftheparties.Inallcaseswhereanorderforchildsupportisrequested,aguidelineworksheetmust befilledout,regardlessoftheincomeoftheparties. Principles Inestablishingtheseguidelines,dueconsiderationhasbeengiventothefollowingprinciples: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) tominimizetheeconomicimpactonthechildsstandardofliving toencouragejointparentalresponsibilityforchildsupportinproportionto,orasapercentageof,income tomeetthechildssurvivalneedsinthefirstinstance,buttotheextenteitherparentenjoysahigher standardof living,toentitlethechildtoenjoythathigherstandard toprotectasubsistencelevelofincomeofparentsatthelowendoftheincomerangewhetherornottheyareon publicassistance torecognizethenonmonetarycontributionsandextentofinvolvementofbothparents torecognizethemonetaryand/orinkindcontributionsofbothparentsinadditiontothechildsupportorder topromoteconsistencyinthesettingofchildsupportordersatallincomelevelswheneverappropriate torecognizetheimportance,availability,andcostofhealthinsurancecoverageforthechild toallowforordersandwageassignmentsthatcanbeadjustedasincomeincreasesordecreasesand tominimizeproblemsofproofforthepartiesandtostreamline administrationforthecourts.

I.INCOMEDEFINITION A. SourcesofIncome

Forpurposesoftheseguidelines,incomeisdefinedasgrossincomefromwhateversourceregardlessofwhether thatincomeisrecognizedbytheInternalRevenueCodeorreported totheInternalRevenueServiceorstateDepartmentof Revenueorothertaxingauthority.Thosesourcesinclude,butarenotlimitedto,thefollowing: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) (a)salaries,wages,overtimeandtips, (b)incomefromselfemployment commissions severancepay royalties bonuses interestanddividends

7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) 26) 27) 28) B.

incomederivedfrombusinesses/partnerships 1 socialsecurityexcludinganybenefitduetoachildsowndisability veteransbenefits militarypay,allowancesandallotments insurancebenefits,includingthosereceivedfordisabilityandpersonalinjury,butexcludingreimbursementsfor propertylosses workerscompensation unemploymentcompensation pensions annuities distributionsandincomefromtrusts capitalgainsinrealandpersonalpropertytransactionstotheextentthattheyrepresentaregularsourceof income spousalsupportreceivedfromapersonnotapartytothisorder contractualagreements perquisitesorinkindcompensationtotheextentthattheyrepresentaregularsourceofincome unearnedincomeofchildren,intheCourtsdiscretion incomefromlifeinsuranceorendowmentcontracts incomefrominterestinanestate,eitherdirectlyorthroughatrust lotteryorgamblingwinningsreceivedeitherinalumpsumorintheformof anannuity prizesorawards netrentalincome fundsreceivedfromearnedincomecreditand anyotherformofincomeorcompensationnotspecificallyitemizedabove. OvertimeandSecondaryJobs

IftheCourtdisregardsincome,inwholeorinpart,fromovertimeorasecondaryjob,dueconsiderationmust firstbegiventocertainfactorsincludingbutnotlimitedtothehistoryoftheincome,theexpectationthattheincomewill continuetobeavailable,theeconomicneedsofthepartiesandthechildren,theimpactoftheovertimeontheparenting plan,andwhethertheextraworkisarequirementofthejob.If,afterachildsupportorderisentered,apayororrecipient obtainsasecondaryjoborbeginstoworkovertime,neitherofwhichwasworkedpriortotheentryoftheorder,thereshall beapresumptionthatthesecondaryjoborovertimeincomeshouldnotbeconsideredinafuturesupportorder. C. SelfEmploymentorOtherIncome

Incomefromselfemployment,rent,royalties,proprietorshipofabusiness,orjointownershipofapartnershipor closelyheldcorporation,isdefinedasgrossreceiptsminusordinaryandnecessaryexpensesrequiredtoproduceincome. Ingeneral,incomeandexpensesfromselfemploymentoroperationofabusinessshouldbecarefullyreviewedto determinetheappropriatelevelofgrossincomeavailabletotheparenttosatisfyachildsupportobligation.Inmanycases thisamountwilldifferfromadeterminationofbusinessincomefortaxpurposes. Expense reimbursements,inkindpaymentsorbenefitsreceivedbyaparent,personaluseofbusinessproperty, paymentofpersonalexpensesbyabusinessinthecourseofemployment,selfemployment,oroperationofabusiness maybeincludedasincomeifsuchpaymentsaresignificantandreducepersonallivingexpenses.

IfaparentreceivessocialsecuritybenefitsorSSDIbenefitsandthechild(ren)ofthepartiesreceivesadependency benefitderivedfromthatparentsbenefit,theamountof thedependencybenefitshallbeaddedtothegrossincomeofthatparent. Thiscombinedamountisthatparentsgrossincomeforpurposesofthechildsupportcalculation. Iftheamountofthedependencybenefitexceedsthechildsupportobligationcalculatedundertheguidelines,thenthe Payorshallnothaveresponsibilityforpaymentofcurrentchildsupportinexcessofthedependencybenefit.However,ifthe guidelinesarehigherthanthedependencybenefit,thePayormustpaythedifferencebetweenthedependencybenefitandthe weeklysupportamountundertheguidelines. Rosenbergv.Merida,428Mass.182(1998).

D.

UnreportedIncome

WhentheCourtfindsthateitherparentsgrossincome,inwholeorinpart,isundocumentedorunreportedfor taxorothergovernmentalpurposes,theCourtmayreasonably imputeincometotheparentbasedonalltheevidence submitted,includingbutnotlimitedtoevidenceoftheparentsownershipandmaintenanceofassets,andtheparents lifestyle,expensesandspendingpatterns. IncircumstanceswheretheCourtfindsthatapartyhasunreportedincome,theCourtmayadjusttheamountof incomeupwardbyareasonablepercentagetotakeintoaccounttheabsenceofincometaxesthatnormallywouldbedue andpayableontheunreportedincome. E. NonParentGuardian

Theincomeofanonparentguardianshallnotbeconsideredforpurposesofcalculatingachildsupport obligation.

II.FACTORSTOBECONSIDEREDINSETTINGTHECHILDSUPPORTORDER A. RelationshiptoAlimonyorSeparateMaintenancePayments

TheseguidelineshavebeendevelopedwiththeunderstandingthatchildsupportisnondeductiblebythePayor andnontaxabletotheRecipient.TheseguidelinesdonotprecludetheCourtfromdecidingthatanyorderbedesignated inwholeorinpartasalimonywithoutitbeingdeemedadeviationprovidedthetaxconsequencesareconsideredin determiningtheorderandtheaftertaxsupportreceivedbytheRecipientisnotdiminished.Itistheresponsibilityofthe partiestopresentthetaxconsequencesofproposed orderstotheCourt. B. ClaimsofPersonalExemptionsforChildDependents

Insettingasupportorder,theCourtmaymakeanorderregardingtheclaimsofpersonalexemptionsforchild dependentsbetweenthepartiestotheextentpermittedbylaw. C. MinimumandMaximumLevels

Theseguidelinesarealsointendedtoprotectaminimumsubsistencelevelforthoseparentsobligatedtopay childsupportwhoseincomeislessthan$100perweek.However,itistheobligationofallparentstocontributetothe supportoftheirchildren.Tothatend,inallcases,aminimumorderof$80permonth($18.46perweek)shouldenter. ThisminimumshouldnotbeconstruedaslimitingtheCourtsdiscretiontosetahigherorlowerorder,should circumstanceswarrant, asadeviationfromtheguidelines. Theseguidelinesarenotmeanttoapplywherethecombinedannualgrossincomeofthepartiesexceeds $250,000.Incaseswhereincomeexceedsthislimit,theCourtshouldconsidertheawardofsupportatthe$250,000 level astheminimumpresumptiveorder.AdditionalamountsofchildsupportmaybeawardedintheCourtsdiscretion. D. ParentingTime

Theseguidelinesrecognizethatchildrenshouldenjoyparentingtimewithbothparentstothegreatestextent possibleconsistentwiththechildrensbestinterests. Theseguidelinesarebaseduponthechild(ren)havingaprimaryresidencewithoneparentandspending approximatelyonethirdofthetimewiththeotherparent. Wheretwoparentsshareequally,orapproximatelyequally,thefinancialresponsibilityandparentingtimeforthe child(ren),thechildsupportshallbedeterminedbycalculatingthechildsupportguidelinestwice,firstwithoneparentas

theRecipient,andsecondwiththeotherparentasthe Recipient.Thedifferenceinthecalculationsshallbepaidtothe 2 parentwiththelowerweeklysupportamount. Wherethereismorethanonechildcoveredbythisorderandeachparentprovidesaprimaryresidenceforoneor moreofthesechildren,childsupportshallbedeterminedbycalculatingthechildsupportguidelinestwice,firstwithone parentastheRecipientusingthenumberofchildreninhisorhercare,andsecondwiththeotherparentastheRecipient usingthenumberofchildreninhis orhercare.Thedifferenceinthecalculationsshallbepaidtotheparentwiththelower 3 weeklysupportamount. E. ChildCareCosts

Reasonablechildcarecostsforthechild(ren)coveredbytheorderandduetogainfulemploymentofeitherparty aretobedeductedfromthegrossincomeofthepartywhopaysthecost.Inappropriatecircumstances,childcarecosts mayincludethoseduetotrainingoreducationreasonablynecessarytoobtaingainfulemploymentorenhanceearning capacity. F. Ageofthe Children

Theseguidelinesapplytocasesinvolvingchildrenentitledtosupportfromages018andchildrenover18who arestillattendinghighschool.Inestablishingsupportordersforchildrenoverage18,totheextentpermittedbylaw,the Courtshallexerciseitsdiscretionconsideringthereasonforthecontinuedresidencewithanddependenceonthe Recipient,thechildsacademiccircumstances,livingsituation,theavailableresourcesoftheparents,thecostsofpost secondaryeducation forthechildandtheallocationofthosecostsbetweentheparents,andtheavailabilityoffinancialaid. G. HealthInsurance,Uninsured,andExtraordinaryMedicalExpenses 1) HealthInsurance

Eachpartymaydeductfromgrossincomethereasonablecostofindividualorfamilyhealthinsuranceactually paidbythatparty.However,ifthereisanadditionalcosttoinsureapersonnotcoveredbythisorder,andtheCourt determinesthatsuchadditionalcostwouldunreasonablyreducetheamountofchildsupport,thensomeorallofsuch additionalcostshallnotbededucted. WhentheCourtmakesanorderforchildsupport,theCourtshalldeterminewhetherhealthinsuranceisavailable throughanemployerorotherwiseavailableatareasonablecostthatmaybeextendedtocoverthechild.Whensuch insuranceisavailable,theCourtshallincludeinthesupportorderarequirementthatsuchinsuranceforthechildbe obtainedormaintained.ThePayorandRecipientmustagreeinwritingthatsuchinsurancewillbeprovidedbyother meansnotincludingMassHealth. HealthcarecoverageshallbedeemedavailabletothePayoratreasonablecostifitisavailablethroughan employer.TheCourtmaydeterminethatthecostofhealthcarecoverageisunreasonableifitcreatesanunduehardship onthePayor.IftheCourtdeterminesthathealthcarecoverageisnotavailabletothePayoratareasonablecost,thenthe CourtshallenteranorderrequiringthePayortoobtainandmaintainhealthcarecoverageforthechildifandwhenthe 4 parenthasaccesstosuchcoverageatareasonablecost. 2) Dental/VisionInsurance

Eachpartymaydeductfromgrossincomethereasonablecostactuallypaidbythatpartyofdental/vision insuranceinsuringthechildrencoveredbythisorder.
2 3

Forpurposesofthesecalculations,nodeductionsonline1eoftheGuidelinesWorksheetshallbemade. Forpurposesofthesecalculations,nodeductionsonline1eoftheGuidelinesWorksheetshallbemade. 4 CurrentstatutorylanguagepermitstheRecipientofchildsupporttoprovidehealthinsuranceifthereisagreement,butabsent agreementtheCourtlacksauthoritytorequiretheRecipienttoprovidehealthinsurance.Atsuchtimeasthelegislatureamends thelaw,theGuidelinesshouldbeconstrued,totheextentpossible,consistentwithanyamendmentstoMassachusettslawand federalregulations(45C.F.R.parts302,303,304,305,and308).

Ifthereisanadditionalcosttoinsureapersonnotcoveredbythisorder,andtheCourtdeterminessuch additionalcostwouldunreasonablyreducetheamountofchildsupport,thensomeorallofsuchadditionalcostshallnot bedeductedfromgrossincome. 3) RoutineUninsuredMedicalandDentalExpenses

TheRecipientshallberesponsibleforpaymentofthefirst$250eachyearincombinedroutineuninsuredhealth anddental/visionexpensesforallthechildrencoveredbythis order.Foramountsabovethatlimit,atthetimeofentryof establishingormodifyingthesupportorder,theCourtshallallocateexpensesbetweenthepartieswithoutadjustmentto thechildsupportorder. 4) UninsuredExtraordinaryMedicalandDentalExpenses

Thepaymentofuninsuredextraordinarymedicalanddentalexpensesincurredforthechildren,absentagreement oftheparties,shallbetreatedonacasebycasebasis.(Example:orthodontia,psychological/psychiatriccounseling,etc.) WheretheCourtmakesadeterminationthatsuchmedicalanddentalservicesarenecessaryandareinthebestinterestsof thechild(ren),theCourtshallallocatesuchexpensesbetweentheparties. H. AttributionofIncome

Attributionofincomeisintendedtobeappliedwhereafindinghasbeenmadethateitherpartyiscapableof workingandisunemployedorunderemployed.TheCourtshallconsiderallrelevantfactorsincludingwithoutlimitation theeducation,training,healthandpastemploymenthistoryoftheparty,andtheage,number,needsandcareofthe childrencoveredbythisorder.IftheCourtmakesadeterminationthateitherpartyisearninglessthanheorshecould throughreasonableeffort,theCourtshouldconsiderpotentialearningcapacityratherthanactualearningsinmakingits order. I. OtherOrdersandObligations

Whenaninitialorderissoughtforachildcoveredbythisorder,thefollowingamountsactuallypaidtosupport aformerspouseorachildnotcoveredbythisordershallbedeductedfromgrossincomeforpurposesofcalculatingthe childsupportamountunderthisorder: 1) 2) 3) theamountofpriorordersforspousalandchildsupportor voluntarypaymentstosupportachildwithwhomthePayordoesnotreside, totheextenttheamounts arereasonableor ahypotheticalamountofchildsupportforachildwithwhomthePayorresidesbutforwhomnochild supportorderexists,whichhypotheticalchildsupportamountshallbecalculatedaccordingtothe GuidelinesWorksheetusingthegrossincomesofbothparentsofthechild.

Thepartyseekingtotakesuchdeductionsfromgrossincomemusthavealegalobligationordutytosupportthe formerspouseorchildandmustprovideevidencethatsuchsupportorvoluntarypaymentsareactuallybeingpaid. Totheextentthatpriorordersforspousalandchildsupportareactuallybeingpaid,theCourtshoulddeduct thosepaymentsfromthepartysgrossincomebeforeapplyingtheformulatodeterminethechildsupportorder. Voluntarypaymentsforotherchildrenapartyhasalegalobligationtosupportmaybedeductedinwholeorinparttothe extenttheamountsarereasonable.Itisthepartysobligationtoprovideevidenceoftheexistenceandpaymentofprior ordersorvoluntarypayments. Obligationstoasubsequentfamilymaybeusedasadefensetoarequesttomodifyanorderseekinganincrease intheexistingorderbutsuchobligationsshouldnotbeconsideredareasontodecreaseexistingorders.

J.

FamilieswithMorethanFiveChildren

Theguidelinesformulaappliestofamilieswith15children.Formorethanfivechildren,theordershouldbeat leasttheamountorderedforfivechildren.

K.

OtherChildRelatedExpenses

Insuchcaseswherethe Courtmakesadeterminationthatthereareadditionalchildrelatedexpensessuchas extracurricularactivities,privateschool,postsecondaryeducationorsummercamps,whichareinthebestinterestofthe childandwhichareaffordablebytheparties,theCourtmayallocatecoststothepartiesonacasebycasebasis.

III. A.

MODIFICATION

Achildsupportordermaybemodifiedifanyofthefollowingcircumstancesexist: 1) 2) 3) 4) theexistingorderisatleastthreeyearsoldor healthinsurancepreviouslyavailableatreasonablecostisnolongeravailable(orifavailablebutnotat reasonablecost)or healthinsurancenotpreviouslyavailabletoapartyatreasonablecosthasbecomeavailableor anyothermaterialchangeincircumstanceshasoccurred.

B.

Uponarequestformodificationofanorderthatdeviatedfromtheguidelinesatthetimeitwasentered,the guidelinesshallapplyunless: 1) 2) 3) thefactsthatgaverisetodeviationstillexistand deviationcontinues tobeinthechildsbestinterestand theguidelinesamountwouldbeunjustorinappropriateunderthecircumstances.

ParagraphBabovedoesnotprecludedeviationsbasedonothergroundssetforthinSectionIVorgroundsfor modificationasset forthinParagraphAabove.

IV.

DEVIATIONS

TheCourt,orthepartiesbyagreementapprovedbytheCourt,maydeviatefromtheguidelinesandovercome thepresumptiveapplicationoftheguidelinesprovidedtheCourtentersspecificwrittenfindingsstating: 1) 2) 3) 4) theamountoftheorderthatwouldresultfromapplicationoftheguidelines thattheguidelinesamountwouldbeunjustorinappropriateunderthecircumstances thespecificfactsofthecasewhichjustifydeparturefromtheguidelinesand thatsuchdepartureisconsistentwiththebestinterestsofthechild.

Circumstanceswhichmaysupportdeviationinclude,butarenotlimitedto,thefollowing: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) thepartiesagreeandtheCourtapprovestheiragreement achildhasspecialneedsoraptitudes achildhasextraordinarymedicalorotherexpenses applicationoftheguidelines,particularlyinlowincomecases,leavesapartywithouttheabilitytoself support Payorisincarcerated,islikelytoremainincarceratedforanadditional3yearsandhasinsufficient financialresourcestopaysupport applicationoftheguidelineswouldresultinagrossdisparityinthestandardoflivingbetweenthetwo householdssuchthatonehouseholdisleftwithanunreasonablylowpercentageofthecombined availableincome

7) 8) 9) 10)

aparenthasextraordinarymedicalexpenses aparenthasextraordinarytravelorotherexpensesrelatedtoparenting applicationoftheguidelinesmayadverselyimpactreunificationofaparentandchildwherethechild hasbeentemporarilyremovedfromthehouseholdbaseduponallegationsofneglector absentdeviation,applicationoftheguidelineswouldleadtoanorderthatisunjust,inappropriateornot inthe bestinterestsofthechild,consideringthePrinciplesoftheseguidelines.

Child Support Guidelines Worksheet

Child Support Guidelines Chart