What Are the Child Support Guidelines for Separated Fathers in the United States?
Good question.
First, there are federal laws and regulations that govern the states in setting their child support calculation and collection laws.
Second, any parent (father or mother) can be ordered to pay child support. Men are not the only ones who are ordered to pay child support.
Third, while we do have in place some overarching federal child support guidelines, child support is not collected by the federal government, and child support calculation and collection guidelines are set by the individual states (but must be set in compliance with federal laws and regulations). If the states want federal funding to help cover the costs of their child support collection efforts (and they all do), states must ensure that their child support collection laws and practices comply with federal law. An excellent concise summary of federal child support law can be found here:
https://www.findlaw.com/family/child-support/child-support-guidelines.html
And here:
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-child-support-enforcement
So, to find out how much child support you may have to pay, you will need to know what the child support calculation laws are in the state that has the right to issue a child support order. Depending upon the circumstances, that state could be the state where you reside or where the child resides.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Tags: Child Support, child support guidelines