Every parent in Colorado is expected to contribute to the financial support of their children, regardless of whether they still are or ever were married to the person with whom they had those children. Accordingly, determining the degree to which each parent is financially responsible for their child’s continued care is often a source of significant disagreement in divorce, separation, or allocation of parental responsibility proceedings.
While Colorado state law has codified various aspects of how child support amounts are determined in objective terms, there is still a lot our seasoned family attorneys could do to ensure your income, degree of liability, and best interests are all communicated effectively. In addition to negotiating and advocating on your behalf during the initial issuance of a support agreement, a Greenwood Village child support lawyer could also help you seek modification or enforcement of such an agreement should it ever become necessary. Let the Colorado Lawyer Team help you seek a favorable outcome.
How State Law Addresses Child Support
Colorado Revised Statutes §14-10-115 defines how state courts should approach, interpret, and make rulings on matters of child support in Greenwood Village. In a nutshell, this statute establishes that child support obligations should be calculated proportionally based on factors focused on the child’s needs and the ability of each individual parent to pay based on their monthly income.
As a general rule of thumb, Colorado utilizes a child support calculator to take all of these factors into account. The primary issues concern the amount of overnights spent with each parent, income of the parents, health insurance costs, and extraordinary expenses.
However, unique circumstances like the child’s general standard of living while their parents were together, any long-term medical issues they have, and any other specific needs they have may impact how much support their parents are collectively expected to provide. For example, children who attend private school, are enrolled in extensive extracurricular activities, travel for the purposes of parenting time may impact child support.
Further, determining a parent’s income is often times a disputed issue. Some parents’ incomes are straight-forward with W-2 incomes. However, some parents are self-employed or engaged in business ventures, which can quickly complicate an income determination. A local child support attorney could help an individual parent estimate what their obligation will likely be based on their and their child’s circumstances.
