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REVISED NEW JERSEY CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES
Recently revised New Jersey child support guidelines, effective September 1, 1997, revises the existing Child Support Guidelines and establishes a new schedule of child support with a new method to calculate support obligations as follows:
- Fixes child support for children less than 18 years of age or more than 18 years of age but still attending high school.
- Applies to combined family net income up to $150,800 annually.
- Designates parent with more than 50% of the overnights as the Parent of Primary Residence (PPR) and the other parent as the Parent of Alternate Residence (PAR).
- Allocates child-related costs, 38% for Fixed Costs (housing); 37% for Variable Costs (transportation and food); and 25% for Controlled Costs (clothing, personal care, entertainment and miscellaneous expenses).
- Assumes that the PPR always has responsibility for Controlled Costs regardless of the parenting arrangement.
- Permits a child support credit against both Fixed and Variable Expenses in a shared parenting arrangement where the PAR has the "substantial equivalent" of two or more overnights per week over a year or more and can demonstrate that separate living accommodations for the child are maintained specifically for the child during overnight stays.
- Permits a child support adjustment limited to a percentage of the child's Variable Costs where the PAR exercises regular visitation time of less than 2 overnights per week (excluding holidays and vacations.)
- Provides for elimination of the above credits if visitation is not exercised pursuant to the written Plan.
- Includes $250 of annual unreimbursed medical expenses per child in the child support amount.
- Mandates that alimony, if any, be fixed and treated as additional income to the PPR for calculating child support.
- Should not be used to determine parental contributions for college or other post-secondary education expenses nor the amount of support for a child attending college.
- Permits court to impute income to party deemed to be underemployed or unemployed without good cause.
- Effective December 1, 1997, requires that a Child Support Guidelines worksheet be submitted with the Child Support Order or Judgment for approval by the court. The worksheet must show the Court how the child support figure was calculated and explain the reason for any deviation from the Guidelines support amount.
- Adoption of revised child support guidelines is not an automatic basis for the modification of a child support order. To qualify for a child support modification, party must file a motion with the court and show a change in circumstances other than the adoption of the revised Guidelines.
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