Massachusetts Divorce and Family Law

The Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines determine child support obligations by using a mathematic formula.  The Guidelines were developed to assist in determining the level of payment that would be expected given the relative income levels of the parties.  The Guidelines were also developed to eliminate disputes as to the "proper" level of support to be awarded under the circumstances.  The goals of the Guidelines are:

(a) To minimize the economic impact on the child of family breakup;
(b) To encourage joint parental responsibility for child support in proportion to, or as a percentage of, income;
(c) To provide the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the family been intact;
(d) To meet the child's survival needs in the first instance, but to the extent either parent enjoys a higher standard of living to entitle the child to enjoy that higher standard;
(e) To protect a subsistence level of income of parents at the low end of the income range whether or not they are on public assistance;
(f) To take into account the non-monitory contributions of both the custodial and non-custodial parents;
(g) To minimize problems of proof for the parties and of administration for the Courts; and,
(h) To allow for Orders and wage assignments that can be adjusted as income increases or decreases.

A modification of child support may be allowed by the Court upon a showing of 20% or more difference between an established Order and a proposed new Order calculated under the Guidelines.

In considering a child support Order the Court considers several factors, including:

(a) The tax implications of alimony and child support Orders;
(b) Claims of taxation personal exemptions for child dependents;
(c) Minimum and maximum income levels, as well as a minimum threshold child support order of $80 per month for parents who earn less than $100 per week;
(d) Custody and visitation arraignments, including extraordinary travel-related expenses necessary to exercise Court Ordered visitation rights;
(e) The costs of raising children broken down into three age groups: 0-12, 13-18, and over 18;
(f) The availability of health insurance or other health coverage as well as which parent who provides the coverage;
(g) The allocation of routine and extraordinary medical and dental expenses among the parties;
(h) Attribution of income if either or both parties is earning substantially less than they could through reasonable effort, in which case the Court may apply "potential earning capacity" rather than actual earnings;
(i) Prior Orders for spousal and child support that are actually being paid; and, potentially,
(j) The expenses of subsequent families in certain cases.