Blogs
on April 26, 2026
Child support is meant to ensure the parent who does not live with the child or does not have custody of the child will financially contribute to the child’s upbringing. In 2017, the 5.4 million parents who were owed child support payments received 62% of the amount they were supposed to get, on average. About 30% of parents who are owed child support payments get nothing, according to data from the Census Bureau. The amendment also would have barred charitable choice programs from excluding participants in fatherhood programs based on their religious beliefs. During floor debate, she stated, "We have added many provisions to assure that domestic violence and child abuse are prevented and, when necessary, that referrals are made to local services to help families in which violence is occurring."
Who benefits from child support payments?
And in a deeper sense, as a good father, no government agency [nor any third party for that matter] is gonna dictate how I spend my time and money. Basically, I can more efficiently handle time and money than can any governmental Child Support Enforcement agency. This toolkit from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse will help you plan and build a fatherhood program
OPRE Brief: Providing Financial Support for Childr
In this episode of Advocating for Dads, Jana, a seasoned family law attorney, delves into the complexities of holiday travel custody disputes. Jana also shares what mistakes dads should avoid early in the process-and why waiting too long to act can hurt your case. In this episode, North Carolina family law attorney Jana Jones explains what happens when a child says they want to live with one parent over the other. She also covers the child support calculation process, the difference between worksheets A and B, and when custody modifications may be appropriat
Additionally, the court may consider other factors in equal parenting time situations, such as the child’s needs, the parent’s ability to provide for those needs, and the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the parents had stayed togethe
Childcare
Working with a family attorney may help you determine a more accurate estimate based on unique factors about your situation and use strategies to help you settle a fair amount. Use shared spreadsheets, expense-tracking apps, or co-parenting apps to log payments for childcare, medical costs, and other shared expenses. They divide that by 100 to determine they must add $590 to the amount from the schedule. Pennsylvania uses a guideline child support formula to determine how much parents should contribute financially to their child's care. If co-parents come to collaborative custody agreements that no child support is to be paid between them, some courts may be able to accept that agreement if, and only if, they determine that it's in the self employed dads support estimate best interests of the child. There is a refined version of the Income Shares model, called the Melson Formula, that also takes a parent's ability to meet their own basic needs into account when calculating child support obligation
Advice for Parents: Prioritizing Child Well-being in Custody Disputes
From practical advice on dealing with non-compliance to the legal implications and consequences, Jana offers valuable insights for fathers navigating challenging custody situations. Jana explains the nature of temporary custody orders, the reasons families may need them, and the key issues typically addressed in such orders. In this episode of Advocating for Dads with Jana and Jones family law attorney Jana sheds light on temporary custody orders in North Carolina. From parental rights to court orders, Jana provides insights on handling travel conflicts during the festive seaso
In 2018, 14.7 million children lived in households receiving child support payments, about 1 in 5 children in the US, according to HHS. About 50% of all custodial parents have child support agreements with the noncustodial parent. The median amount that custodial parents were supposed to receive was $4,356 per year, but the median received was $1,800. One in five children in the US live in households that receive child support payments. He objects to a lack of regulation and accountability in the collection industry, as well as the practice of compensating private companies with a percentage of the collected child support—usually 25 to 30 percent of each payment collecte
Since the statutes that govern child support calculations vary, it is crucial to research how child support is handled in the jurisdiction of your case to understand how the total is determined. Judges are also given the discretion to deviate from the formula for their state to account for unique circumstances. One of the biggest things to keep in mind is that the formulas used by courts are both fairly simple and very complicated at the same time.
What information does the court need to calculate child suppor