Georgia's New Child Support Laws

Georgia's New Child Support Laws

Georgia's new child support laws have gone into effect the first of 2007.

The new child support guidelines are based on income shares. The old guidelines were based on the gross income of the noncustodial parent. Now, both parents income will be taken into account in calculating child support. The intent is to prorate the actual child-rearing expenses between both parents, at whatever level of incomes.

This law will apply in all types of legal proceedings concerning child support, including juvenile court deprivation actions, paternity actions, actions for divorce, third party custody actions, or in any other action in which a parent’s obligation for support shall be determined.

The new law is based on public policy regarding calculations of child support, that is:

To achieve the state policy of affording to children of unmarried Parents, to the extent possible, the same economic standard of living enjoyed by children living in intact families consisting of Parents with similar financial means. Under the new law, the determination of child support is to be made in the best interest of the child.

The new law provides that the child support guidelines are a minimum (emphasis added) basis for determining the amount of child support. They are and shall be applied in legal proceedings involving the child support responsibility of a Parent.

This code section applies to all legal proceedings involving child support responsibilities. For the first time, it is mandated at the guidelines of this code section shall be used in a temporary child support order as well as in a permanent child support order.

A simplified view of the process is as follows:

The incomes of each parent are combined, and a child support amount is computed based on a table provided in the law. The noncustodial parent will pay child support based on the proportion of his or her income compared to the combined incomes of both parents. The actual calculations will be more complicated because a number of factors will be taken into consideration. These include but are not limited to whether or not a parent is under employed, self-employed, pays support for other children, has unusually high or low income, travel expenses, health insurance, and also unusual division of parenting time.

Parties to cases under the new child support law must provide worksheets and schedules to the court.

There is obviously plenty of work to be done in future to put these guidelines into use. Our office currently handles cases in these areas and would be glad to offer assistance and advice as needed.

David S. Walker
Walker Law Firm
Mailing address: P.O. BOX 871329, Stone Mountain GA 30087
Offices:
• North Gwinnett- 6340 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 200 Duluth GA 30097
• South Gwinnett- 2330 Scenic Highway, Snellville GA 30078
Telephone 770-972-3803; Facsimile 770-921-7418
email walk711@hotmail.com http://www.walker-law-firm.com/
Admitted in GA and D.C. UGA Law’76
Georgia Bar No. 731725