In reviewing the outline below, the most important perspective to hold is to try your very best not to get triggered – or interpret this information through the prism of fear, lack, worst case thinking, or that your spouse or the Court will not treat you decently, whether you are a payor or a recipient. Thousands upon thousands of couples in mediation in Massachusetts get through this process and figure out what is equitable, and so will you. The fact that you have landed on a mediation website, as opposed to a litigation website, means that you and hopefully your spouse will be predisposed to do exactly that.
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Massachusetts Child Support, as administered locally in the Barnstable Probate and Family Court, is money paid from one parent to another to financially support children when the parents no longer live together. Parents are obligated to support their children financially, regardless of whether they are still married (but living apart), are divorced, or were never married. The amount of Massachusetts Child Support depends on a combination of factors (a) how much time the children spend with each parent, b) the difference between the incomes of the parents, and c) the number of children the parents have together. The income figures used are adjusted for the amount of money each parent spends on childcare and health care.
There are three possibilities for child custody, which affect Massachusetts child support.
- Children with mom, parenting time with dad. (presumption of 70/30 parenting time)
- Children with dad, parenting time with mom. (presumption of 70/30 parenting time)
- Shared custody, in which the children spend approximately half time with each parent.
The Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines use a mathematical formula that weighs all of the above factors to determine the amount of child support that one parent will pay to the other. You can see the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines for calculation of child support by using this free Massachusetts 2021 Child Support Calculator. This online calculator will generate a court-ready, filled in Child Support Guidelines Worksheet.
In divorce mediation at Cape Cod Mediation, there is more flexibility
than in court as we recognize that a couple’s circumstances may not always fit into inflexible boxes. Therefore, if the parties agree to a suitable amount, and the Court determines the agreement to be fair and reasonable, the parties my deviate from the strict application of the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines. Common reason for deviation, in either direction, can be if a parent provides substantially less than one-third of the parenting time for a child or children, that the guidelines amount would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances, where the application of the guidelines would result in a gross disparity in the standard of living between the two households, if a parent has extraordinary expenses, or a child has ongoing special needs or aptitudes with financial consequences, to name a few.
How long does child support go on for?
Many believe that Massachusetts Child Support ends at age 18. This is known as “emancipation.” However, if a child does not move out and remains dependent on a parent, then Massachusetts Law states that child support may be extended for “any child who has attained age eighteen but who has not attained age twenty-one and who is domiciled in the home of a parent, and is principally dependent upon this parent for support and maintenance.” This law also may extend child support “to age twenty-three if a child is domiciled at home and principally dependent upon said parent for maintenance due to enrollment of an undergraduate educational program.”
It should also be noted that the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines do not apply between the ages of 18, 21 and 23, and so that the amount of child support to be paid is in the discretion of the Court or by agreement of the parties. Special needs children who can never achieve financial independence may never emancipate.
As part of an uncontested hearing at the Barnstable Probate and Family Court, divorcing spouses have the option of having child support paid through an employer wage assignment and be administered through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. This is not a requirement, and most couples at Cape Cod Mediation sign a waiver of wage assigned child support, as these couples do not need outside enforcement. Child support wage assignment though the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, however, can be activated at any time by the recipient.
Can Massachusetts Child Support be modified?
Child support decrees at the Barnstable Probate and Family Court can always be modified by the Court or by a party or parties if there is a change of custody or job loss or significant increase or decrease in income. However, child support modifications should not be done informally, and should always be submitted to the court for approval, as the prior court decree governs until otherwise modified. Verbal, non-Court approved signed or notarized agreements, emails, texts or other informal agreements may or may not be honored by the Court if contested, and arrearages could possibly be imposed retroactively on the payor to the date of the original support order.
What Income Counts?
For the purpose of Child Support in Massachusetts, income is defined as gross income from whatever source, regardless of whether that income is recognized by the Internal Revenue Code or reported to the Internal Revenue Service. This list, though not exhaustive, includes salaries, wages, overtime and tips, income from self-employment, commissions, bonuses, interest and dividends, income derived from businesses, social security, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, pensions, distributions and income from trusts and net rental income.
What about overtime and second jobs?
This Massachusetts Child Support question is often negotiated in mediation, but in contested cases, the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines allows the Court to consider none, some, or all overtime income or income from a secondary job. In determining whether to disregard none, some or all income from overtime or a secondary job, consideration must first be given to the history of the income, the expectation that the income will continue to be available, and the economic needs of the parties and the children.
It should be noted that after a Massachusetts Child Support order is entered, if a payor recipient begins to work overtime or obtains a secondary job, neither of which was worked prior to the entry of the order, the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines makes a presumption that the overtime or secondary job income should not be considered in a future child support order.
What about unreported income?
Cape Cod Mediation, and the Barnstable Probate and Family Court, requires full disclosure of all income, whether reported to the taxing authorities or not. Without this full understanding of the couples’ financial profile, it would be impossible to achieve a resolution of support issues unless based upon the actual data. Couples sometimes in the context of self-employment during the marriage knowingly file joint returns that do not depict the full picture. The recipient in mediation usually wants the support amount to be based upon actual income, not on what the other parent reports to the IRS. The other parent may feel that submission of more accurate financial statements to the Court would invite an income tax audit. In 25 years I have never once seen or heard of the filing of financial statements with the Barnstable Probate and Family Court trigger an income tax audit, but I suppose such a concern is theoretically possible. That being said, it is against the law for a mediator, attorney or any person to knowingly submit false financial statements to the Probate and Family Court.
In contested, non-mediated cases, in circumstances where the Court finds that a parent has unreported income, the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines do allow the Court to adjust (or impute) the amount of income upward by a reasonable percentage, and may look at evidence of the parent’s ownership and maintenance of assets, and the parent’s lifestyle, expenses and spending patterns.
For a more comprehensive explanation of Child Support in Massachusetts, and to find answers for any of your Massachusetts Child Support questions, please click on the link below.
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/child-support-guidelines
Attorney Michael Lee Lavender
Capecodmediation.com