When the end of a marriage becomes clear, the couple has to decide on important personal aspects of their life. Not only do they have to do that between one another, legal issues come into play as well. During this time, children can become a sensitive topic. Parents do not want to lose any of their time with their child or their rights as a guardian. Either the parents or the court has to decide forms of child support and breakdown of child custody. When spouses enter into litigation, a judge is required to make decisions regarding the payments for child support.
How is the amount of child support decided?
Child support is in place to protect children by putting their needs first. The court acts with the best interests of the child in mind to ensure that they will be provided for. The judge will review various factors regarding the family dynamic, the parents and of course, the child’s position in this family. These factors can consist of the financial status of each parent, each party’s work history and each party’s earning capacity. In addition, the income, debt and assets of each parent are considered to see how much financial support they can give to the child. The amount of time the child spends living with each parent is also taken into consideration. These factors take into account how much each parent provides for the child throughout the years and how much they can provide in the future to ensure a stable living situation for the child.
Since the court needs to decide with the best interests of the child in mind, they consider a variety of factors relating to the child’s overall health. This includes the child’s needs, age, health, education and the cost of providing for the child, including daycare. Through these factors, the court is able to assess how much money is needed to maintain a certain standard of living for the child.
At what age does child support end?
In the state of New Jersey, there is no definite age when child support is intended to end. Instead, there are situations that can lead parents to file for the end of child support. There is an option for one parent to release the other from their duty to pay child support. This must be done in a written agreement to prove its validity. Child support may also end when a child turns 19 and is financially independent. A parent can ask the court to file papers to name the child as emancipated, which ends the child support structure.
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