Commercial college rankings are better indicators. Deeply Personal Choice the selection of a college for a – “Unquestionably, child goes far beyond the statistical and the quantifiable, and is instead a very personal, very subjective decision. It is a decision that should be made not by a court but by the child, ideally with the help and support of both parents.” Cost Is Not Dispositive that the funds are available to finance the – “Provided child’s education, the fact that a college is a private school and costs more than a public school is not a reason to interfere with the child going to the school he chose and he wants to attend. One of the factors to be considered when making a determination under is the educational parents’ background.” Federalization of Child Support Family Support Act of 1988 Congress required states to adopt guidelines. – Based on (1) need and (2) ability to pay. child’s parent’s Apply to (1) initial entry of support and (2) modification. Purpose Restrain discretion of trial judges. – Federal funds were tied to states’ compliance. Three Models of Child Support Income Shares Model Majority Rule Two-thirds of states – The income is combined to replicate total income of an intact parents’ family. The basic child support obligation is prorated according to each parent’s income. Percentage of the Income Model Obligor’s About 13 states Determines the child support order amount by applying a state-determined percentage to obligor income. Melson Formula 3 states Three-Step Process After determining the net income for each parent, a self-support reserve (also called a support is subtracted “primary allowance”) from each income. parent’s Each income less the self-support reserve is applied to the parent’s child support obligation calculation. To the extent that either parent has income available after covering the self-support reserve and his or her share of the primary child’s support needs, an additional percentage (the SOLA) of the remaining income is applied to the child support obligation. Has received critical acclaim. Works best for poor and middle-class families, but it can be used for more affluent families too. Income All guidelines require determination of parental “income.”
Commercial college rankings are better indicators. Deeply Personal Choice – “Unquestionably, the selection of a college for a child goes far beyond the statistical and the quantifiable, and is instead a very personal, very subjective decision. It is a decision that should be made not by a court but by the child, ideally with the help and support of both parents.” Cost Is Not Dispositive – “Provided that the funds are available to finance the child’s education, the fact that a college is a private school and costs more than a public school is not a reason to interfere with the child going to the school he chose and he wants to attend. One of the factors to be considered when making a determination under is the parents’ educational background.” Federalization of Child Support Family Support Act of 1988 – Congress required states to adopt guidelines. Based on (1) child’s need and (2) parent’s ability to pay. Apply to (1) initial entry of support and (2) modification. Purpose – Restrain discretion of trial judges. Federal funds were tied to states’ compliance. Three Models of Child Support Income Shares Model Majority Rule – Two-thirds of states The parents’ income is combined to replicate total income of an intact family. The basic child support obligation is prorated according to each parent’s income. Percentage of the Obligor’s Income Model About 13 states Determines the child support order amount by applying a state-determined percentage to obligor income. Melson Formula 3 states Three-Step Process After determining the net income for each parent, a self-support reserve (also called a “primary support allowance”) is subtracted from each parent’s income. Each parent’s income less the self-support reserve is applied to the child support obligation calculation. To the extent that either parent has income available after covering the self-support reserve and his or her share of the child’s primary support needs, an additional percentage (the SOLA) of the remaining income is applied to the child support obligation. Has received critical acclaim. Works best for poor and middle-class families, but it can be used for more affluent families too. Income All guidelines require determination of parental “income.”
Family%20Law%20Outline_Ross.docx