Child Support

Except for cases in which the parties have agreed to share physical custody or cases where the gross income of the non-custodial parent is over $100,000.00 or the joint incomes of the parents is $135,000.00 or above, there is a presumption that the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines shall apply.

The parties may deviate from the guidelines. If they do, the judge is required to enter written findings about the basis for the deviation. This simply means that judge needs to explain the rationale for the deviation.

Child support is always modifiable after the divorce upon a showing of a material change of circumstances.

Child support can continue until a child is 18 unless the child is principally dependent upon a parent for support and domiciled in the home, in which case it can be ordered until age 21 or until age 23 if the child is child principally dependent upon a parent for support, domiciled in the home of one of the parents and enrolled in a post secondary school full time.

The child support guidelines incorporate the cost of health insurance for the child(ren) by adding or subtracting ½ of the cost of the family health insurance plan. The practical effect of this is that the parties end up sharing the cost of health care for the child.

The court has the power to "attribute income" to a party. That is, if the court determines that either party is making substantially less than he or she could through reasonable effort, the court may consider the potential earning capacity rather than actual earning in setting a child support amount.