Does Your Child Support Payment Decrease If the Other Parent Remarries or Has Another Baby?

Ohio’s child support laws are meant to benefit the children involved in a divorce or between parents who were never married. The purpose of child support is to ensure that every child receives at least some form of financial contribution from each of their parents, enough to support their development and give them the best possible start in life. Payments are intended to cover a child’s food, housing, appropriate clothing, educational and extracurricular opportunities, and heath care.

The basic guidelines used by the State of Ohio to calculate the total support amount look at the parenting time allotted each parent, each parent’s combined income, and the number of children involved. The court might also consider the costs of health care coverage for each child and any employment-related child care expenses. Income includes salary (plus wages, tips, or commissions), pensions/annuities, royalties, rents, dividends, Social Security benefits, and unemployment insurance. If you or the other parent were to remarry, the new spouse’s income could impact the child support calculation.

If the court determines that a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, they can impute potential income to them based on their prior employment history and the level of their education, skills, and training. The court can also consider special factors such as unusual needs of the child, benefits received through remarriage or shared living with another person, disparity between the two households, and other relevant factors. “Unusual needs of the child” mean any needs that might require extra supervision, therapy, or education.

So, how might child support be impacted by the other parent remarrying and/or having another baby?

While a new spouse’s income may be excluded from the initial calculation of child support, it’s not entirely irrelevant should you request a child support order modification. The court can deviate from the support guidelines and consider any benefits that the parent receives from their new marriage or shared living situation. The idea is that their new partner is most likely contributing to household expenses such as rent, groceries, utilities, etc. That means they might suddenly have more income available for child support payments.

If your ex-spouse remarries and has a new child (not a step-child), that could also be considered a significant material change in circumstances for the court to modify an existing child support order. The reason is that Ohio wants to ensure that person can provide for their new child. When the courts look at different factors to calculate support amount, they are allowed to consider a parent’s responsibility for the support of other minor children. Consider is the operative word there; a new child does not automatically guarantee that the court will modify existing support.

As you can see, understanding child support obligations can be complicated. If you’d like to know more about how certain things can affect your support order, it’s best to consult with an experienced child support lawyer to go over the specifics in your situation. Child support amounts can impact your life and your child’s life for years to come, so if you're searching the internet for “best child support lawyers near me”, make sure you find legal counsel you can trust to look after your best interests.

Johnson & Core LLC – Passionate Advocacy with a Personal Touch for Your Child Support Needs in Columbus, Ohio

At Johnson & Core, LLP, our lawyers are dedicated to handling all of your child support needs with the one-on-one attention you deserve. Our dedicated family law attorney can ensure that your children’s support level is fair, taking into account all the determining factors that affect initial amounts and potential modifications.

As a client of Johnson & Core LLC, you come first. Attorneys Clay Johnson and Vincent Core deliver individualized service of the highest quality, so you can rest assured you’re in good hands throughout your child support case. Trust our top-notch legal team to secure the resources you need for your family.

For more information on how remarriage or the birth of a new child could affect your child support payment, schedule an initial consultation with our family attorney for child support today.