Children who are going through a divorce are forced to face extreme changes in their lives. One of the biggest changes may be transitioning to a single-parent household from a traditional-family household. This may mean moving from a home to an apartment or moving in with grandparents. Child support is designed to ease this transition and allows kids access to the financial support necessary to have a good quality of life.
When you file for divorce, your information, along with your spouse’s information, is put into a child support calculator. In Ohio, child support is based on an income shares model. This means that children are given the same type of financial support that they have if their parents remained married. Both parents’ finances are factored into the final child support amount. Other factors are considered as well, including how much time the child spends with each parent.
In addition to the base child support amount, other expenses must be shared. Both parents are expected to pay half of child care, medical and educational expenses. Any recreational activities are also split by both parents. In some cases, parents are made to divide the cost of insurance for the child; however, the divorce decree may specify that it is the responsibility of one parent to do so. Depending on the distance between parents, traveling expenses from taking children back and forth from visitation may also be shared.
This information is intended to educate and should not be used as legal advice.
