Arizona's Child Support
Guidelines
What Every Parent Should Know
By: Mitchell
Reichman
Arizona law requires custodial and non-custodial parents to provide
"reasonable support" for their minor children. A.R.S. § 25-501(A).
This obligation is not avoidable. In the midst of a divorce,
the right to receive this support and the amount owed by each
parent can be overlooked. To ensure that parents prioritize
their obligations to their children, Arizona courts impose the
"best interests" of the child standard during every step of a
divorce or paternity proceeding. In fact, the court will give a
parent's child support obligation priority over all
other financial obligations of the parent.
A.R.S. § 25-501(C).
This aspect of family law is so important that determination of the
amount of child support to be paid by each parent is not left to
unrestricted judicial discretion. Instead, the Arizona Supreme
Court has adopted a set of guidelines, which provide a formula for
calculating the amount of monthly support owed by each
parent. Appropriately titled the "Arizona Child Support
Guidelines" this document and schedule is available online (
http://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/31/Child%20Support/CSG2004.pdf)
(the "Guidelines"). However, the detailed explanation available on
the court's website can leave parents with more questions than
answers. To help you understand these issues, we have outlined some
of the important points embedded in the Guidelines. Unfortunately,
when emotions are high and interests are not aligned with each
other, it may be necessary to seek legal advice to ensure a fair
outcome.
What Are the
Guidelines?
Essentially, the Guidelines approximate the amount the parents
would spend on the children if the parents remained living
together. Their purpose is to provide consistent standards of
support and ultimately a reasonable financial plan that is
consistent with the parents' ability to pay. With respect to child
support, there is also an institutional goal of resolving this
issue as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Guidelines
promote these goals by providing standards for determining child
support.
How Child Support is
Calculated and What Factors Are Considered
While the Guidelines provide a method for calculating the amount of
child support, there are circumstances that can make it more
difficult to apply them. For example, it may be difficult to
determine the support amount when a parent is self-employed. Often,
a self-employed individual receives not only a traditional salary
but also benefits from having the business pay certain expenses
that benefit the self-employed parent. The Guidelines address
this situation by providing that for purposes of calculating the
gross income of a self-employed parent, the court must determine
the gross receipts of the business and subtract only the ordinary
and necessary expenses which are required to produce income. AZ CSG
(5)(C). Additionally, self-employed spouses may be required
to prepay an amount of child support equal to six months of support
as security for payment. A.R.S. § 25-503.1(A).
Included within the Guidelines is an amount that economists
determined was appropriate as the "basic" amount of child support,
depending on the number of children and the total monthly gross
income of the parents. However, the Guidelines also include a
presumptive limit of $20,000 a month on the amount of the combined
gross income of the parents that will be used to determine the
"Basic Child Support Obligation." AZ CSG (8). This limit
creates issues in high income households where the amount of
monthly gross income exceeds $20,000. The Guidelines provide
an opportunity for those individuals to seek an amount of child
support in excess of what the Guidelines provide.
Finally, there are additional factors considered by the
court. These factors include, for example, adjustments for
other children not common to the parties, for older children,
low-income adjustment, costs of healthcare and child care, and
costs associated with parenting time. It is important to include
each of these adjustments when the child support calculation is
made; failure to do so may result in one parent shouldering a
significantly unfair financial obligation.
Do the Courts Deviate
From the Guidelines?
Deviations are carefully scrutinized. Less than a decade ago,
deviations from the Guidelines occurred in less than one quarter of
the cases presented in Arizona. However, the courts have
established certain criteria for situations when deviation is
warranted. These criteria include written determinations that
applying the guidelines would be unjust and that it is in the best
interests of the child to depart from the Guidelines support
calculation. Ultimately, deviations are not easily obtainable so it
is essential to account for every plausible factor prior to
presenting your position to the court.
Can the Amount of
a Child Support Order be Modified?
After the court enters a child support order, it generally does not
terminate until the child reaches the age of 18 or, if still in
high school at 18, until the child reaches age 19. A.R.S. §
25-501(A). However, in today's economic climate, with incomes
fluctuating unexpectedly, modification of child support payments
may be necessary to not only ensure continued payment, but also
protect against the financial destruction of one or both
parents. The law allows for modification of child support
upon a showing of "changed circumstances that is substantial and
continuing," A.R.S. § 25-503(E). Although this language is
broad, it does not allow a parent to voluntarily leave a higher
paying job with hopes of decreasing payment obligations.
Rather, circumstances such as disability, termination from
employment, significant pay decrease, and changes in health
insurance may amount to substantial and continuing changes
warranting child support modification.
When such changes occur, a parent should not fail to comply with a
court ordered child support obligation. One party must file a
petition with the court and obtain a court order modifying the
existing support obligation. Without a new court order in
place, the existing support order remains in effect. The
modification, if granted, will only be retroactive to the first day
of the month following notice of the petition for modification or
termination under most circumstances but not earlier than the date
of filing the petition for modification. A.R.S. §
25-327(A).
Is a Court Order Really
Necessary?
Although parents are not legally obligated to obtain a child
support order, the absence of one carries significant
consequences. If there has been no child support order issued
and one parent petitions the court to establish a child support
amount and issue an order, the court can retroactively enforce
child support obligations. Basically, this allows the court
to force a parent to pay the past due amount of child support
which, if the parties lived apart before the date of the filing for
dissolution or child support, can be made retroactive to the date
of the physical separation of the parties but not more than three
years before the date of the filing for dissolution of marriage,
legal separation, or child support. While the court will take
into account any amount of temporary or voluntary support that has
been paid, if repayments are not being made pursuant to court
order, there may be questions about how any payments that have been
made by a parent are to be characterized, specifically, whether
such payments will be given credit as child support.
This is an incentive for both parents to seek an order for child
support at the earliest possible opportunity. Waiting to
obtain that order is only likely to create a situation where an
arrearage accumulates and often payment of that arrearage is
problematic for the parent who is obligated to do so.
Conclusion
In Arizona, every person has the duty to provide reasonable support
for that person's natural and adopted minor, unemancipated
children, regardless of the presence or residence of the
child. Arizona has adopted Child Support Guidelines which are
to be used to determine the ability to pay child support and the
amount of the payments. The obligation to pay child support
is primary and all other financial obligations are secondary.
When parents of a child or children began living separate and
apart, each should immediately consider the propriety of obtaining
a support order as soon as possible to avoid the accumulation of a
significant and problematic arrearage. While application of
the Child Support Guidelines may appear to be simple, there are a
number of circumstances and factors that can make it more difficult
to apply them. There are also special circumstances where
deviations from the Guidelines are appropriate. Once a child
support order is entered, it can be modified based upon a showing
of changed circumstances that are substantial and continuing.
However, modifications do not occur automatically and without a new
court order modifying the existing order, the existing support
order remains in effect and needs to be complied with to avoid
accumulating an arrearage.
About the author: Mitchell
Reichman is an attorney with the Phoenix law firm of Jaburg Wilk. He is a
Certified Specialist in Family
Law by the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal Specialization
and a Super Lawyer in family law. Mitch has extensive
experience representing clients in high conflict divorces
with substantial assets. He can be reached at 602.248.1000 or
mxr@jaburgwilk.com.
This article is not intended to provide legal advice and
only relates to Arizona law. It does not consider the scope
of laws in states other than Arizona. Always consult an
attorney for legal advice for your particular situation.
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. Phoenix . Arizona