Understanding Minnesota Child Support Guidelines
In addition to their obligation to provide love and emotional support for their children, parents also have an obligation to provide financial support for them. In Minnesota, financial support includes basic support, medical support and child care support.
To determine the amount of financial support each parent must contribute to the children, the incomes of both parents, the amount each parent pays for medical insurance and child care, and the amount of parenting time each parent enjoys with the children are all factored in when calculating a parent’s child support obligations.
The attorneys at Hill Crabb, LLC, can help individuals in Edina and throughout Minnesota accurately determine the amount of child support they can expect to pay or receive.
Accurately Determining The Income Of Both Parents
The most important factor in calculating child support is determining each parent’s gross monthly income. Determining the income of a parent may not be as straightforward and easy as it sounds. Self-employment, employer-provided benefits that reduce monthly living expenses, unemployment and voluntary underemployment can raise arguments over what a parent’s income is or should be for purposes of calculating support. The receipt of cash assistance from the county can also impact the determination of a parent’s income and prevent the imputation of income to an unemployed or underemployed parent.
When you contact the attorneys at Hill Crabb, LLC, we can ensure all relevant factors that impact the determination of income are considered and calculated accurately. We help clients with all child support-related concerns, including modifying existing support orders and determining how a military divorce may affect support obligations.
Frequently Asked Child Support Questions
Child support is a complex part of family law that can be difficult to navigate alone. It’s natural to have a lot of questions. Below, we have compiled some of the most common questions we receive from clients to help you better understand how child support works in Minnesota.
What expenses does child support in Minnesota cover?
Child support covers expenses to help a child’s upbringing. This includes everyday essentials such as housing, food and clothing, and other expenses, including transportation, health care and education. Child support can also cover the costs of child care services such as day care or babysitters. Courts may also consider other additional costs that a child should be able to experience such as entertainment costs for amusement parks or camping trips. Extracurricular activities that occur before or after school, or over summer holidays, such as clubs, sports or music lessons, may also be covered through child support payments.
How does child custody influence child support?
Whether you have legal or physical custody does not generally matter when determining child support payments. What factors into child support is the amount of parenting time each parent has. An attorney can help you determine your parenting time and how it will impact your child support payments if you’re obligated to make them.
What happens when child support goes unpaid?
If a co-parent continuously fails to make child support payments, you have legal options. An attorney can help you hold the other parent accountable by enforcing child support orders through withholding wages or other income, suspending licenses, restricting their passport or freezing their bank accounts. They may be held in contempt of court if they continue to fail making payments, which can result in paying significant fines or even jail time.
Speak With A Child Support Lawyer Today
Learn more about the counsel an experienced lawyer can provide by contacting Hill Crabb, LLC, to schedule your consultation. We can be reached through the online contact form or by calling 612-568-5967.