Thousands of Nevada residents will be impacted by the new legislature in place, relating to child support. If you have a current child support order in place, it’s important to understand how these changes may affect you. Our experienced Las Vegas child support lawyers explain what you need to know about the changes.
New Model Makes Determining Child Support Easier
The change is not a minor one; in fact, the complex model for determining child support has been removed entirely. Now, there is a new system in place that simplifies the process of determining the amount of child support to be given/received, thus, greatly affecting individuals who may be on the border of any of the three given ranges.
What Is the New Child Support Breakdown?
To clarify: child support will now be broken down into three groups:
- Individuals who earn less than $6,000 a month will pay 16%
- Individuals who earn between $6,000 and $10,000 a month will pay 8%
- Individuals who earn more than $10,000 a month will pay 4%
Quite a few people have pointed out that, while this system may be beneficial for the one giving payment, it is not necessarily beneficial for the one receiving. This is because the first two groups will be paying less in support than previously.
How Is This Different From the Previous Child Support Model?
Using the previous child support calculator, if a father’s monthly gross income was $4,000 each month, and the mother’s is $1,000, then the father would pay about $750 each month. Using the new formula, he will be paying $640 a month, which is $110 less.
For well-off families, perhaps this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but that extra $110 can mean a world of difference to many families.
From the opposite perspective, the new, lower payments for child support, arguably, make it “easier” for low-income parents to actually make their child support payments.
Another way this new system affects people is that, while the previous system capped child support at $1,000 a month, the new system has no cap, so people earning extreme amounts of money per month will pay according to their income – no matter how high.
What Are the Details of the New Tiered System?
A more detailed breakdown of the new tiered system follows:
- For one (1) child, the sum of:
(a) Sixteen percent (16%) of the first $6,000 of the obligor’s monthly gross income;
(b) Eight percent (8%) of monthly gross income over $6,000 but equal to or less than $10,000; and
(c) Four percent (4%) of monthly gross income over $10,000. - For two (2) children, the sum of:
(a) Twenty-two percent (22%) of the first $6,000 of the obligor’s monthly gross income;
(b) Eleven percent (11%) of monthly gross income over $6,000 but equal to or less than $10,000; and
(c) Six percent (6%) of monthly gross income over $10,000. - For three (3) children, the sum of:
(a) Twenty-six percent (26%) of the first $6,000 of the obligor’s monthly gross income;
(b) Thirteen percent (13%) of monthly gross income over $6,000 but equal to or less than $10,000; and
(c) Six percent (6%) of monthly gross income over $10,000. - For four (4) children, the sum of:
(a) Twenty-eight percent (28%) of the first $6,000 of the obligor’s monthly gross income;
(b) Fourteen percent (14%) of monthly gross income over $6,000 but equal to or less than $10,000; and
(b) Seven percent (7%) of monthly gross income over $10,000. - For each additional child, the sum of:
(a) An additional two percent (2%) of the first $6,000 of the obligor’s monthly gross income;
(b) An additional one percent (1%) of monthly gross income over $6,000 but equal to or less than $10,000; and
(c) An additional one-half percent (0.5%) of monthly gross income over $10,000.