The new Arizona Child Support Guidelines are now in effect. The new Guidelines apply to all child support orders entered on or after June 1, 2011, regardless of when the child support establishment or modification action was filed.The new Guidelines make only minor revisions to the previous version. The most significant change in my view is in section 20 and deals with deviations from the Guidelines. A “deviation” from the Guidelines is where the judge decides to award a different child support amount than the amount indicated by the Guideline calculation.
The new section 20 language states as follows: “In cases with significant disparity of income between the custodial parent and the noncustodial parent, a deviation may be appropriate.” Under previous versions of the Guidelines, most of us family law attorneys felt we could bank on child support being calculated by a straight application of the Guidelines. Deviations were almost never granted absent an agreement between the parents. I anticipate this new language will result in a significant increase in litigation regarding child support calculations, with lower income parents seeking child support in excess of the straight Guideline amounts.
Copyright © 2011 by Scoresby Family Law – J. Kyle Scoresby, P.C. All rights reserved.
You can also watch my video on child support below.
