Child Support for Divorcing Military Couples
Category: Child Custody , Divorce , Family Law
- 22 Jan 2020
- Posted By admin
Divorce can happen to anyone. This goes for civilian, civil servant and military personnel alike. There are laws in place to protect children from all backgrounds during a divorce. But there are even more stringent rules for military personnel. A person in the military is subject to punishment from their commanding officer should they fail to provide for their family.
When Child Support is Necessary
When a couple splits they usually try to divvy up responsibility according to the schedule and workload of each parent. Rarely do both parents make the same exact amount of money and share the exact amount of time with the child or children. Child support laws exist for the benefit of the child and to support the child’s needs. Usually it is necessary to have the parent making the most money give some of that money to the other parent, especially in cases where the custody is not even.
How do they Calculate Child Support?
It really is as simple as a math formula. The court basically plugs in the numbers and uses a formula to determine which parent pays the other and how much they pay. They factor in how much money each parent makes as well as how much time each parent has custody of the child.
Interim Child Support
The military requires its members to provide for their children even if there is no court order in place. The payment amount depends on their gross pay and their Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). If the military parent misses these payments then they may be punished by the military.
Deployment
When the military spouse is deployed it may be more of a challenge for he or she to make the child custody payments. They can set up an automatic payment through the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Child support payments are expected to be made regardless of where an service member is stationed or deployed.
Child support amounts may change over time as one or both spouses makes more or less money. If the custody agreement changes in anyway this also affects the amount required for child support. It is best to speak with your attorney about the specifics in these matters.
