Determining Child Support in Kentucky

When you and your spouse choose to divorce, you both likely understand that some sort of child support obligation will be placed on your both. Like most parents, neither of you has any issue with this; where people from Covington in your same situation that have come to us here at The Berger Firm do have concerns is knowing exactly how much they will be required to pay. You do not want to be placed in the position of thinking that you are being taken advantage of by your ex-spouse when it comes to paying child support. Understanding how the state determines what should be paid each month may help to ensure this does not happen.

According to Section 403.212 of Kentucky’s Revised Statutes, the court looks at yours and your ex-spouse’s combined monthly gross income when determining your child support obligation. “Gross income” includes any of the following:

• Salaries and wages

• Retirement and pension funds

• Commissions and bonuses

• Dividends, capital gains and earned interest

• Annuities and trust income

• Workers’ compensation, disability and Social Security benefits

Funds received from an alimony obligation, as a gift or through an inheritance also count towards gross income.

Your combined monthly gross income is then compared to the state’s child support fee schedule according to how many children you have. For example, if you and your ex-spouse have two children together, and your combined monthly income is $2,500, then your total monthly obligation amount would be $597. The portion of that you are required to pay would depend on the percentage of yours and your ex-spouse’s combined monthly income you contribute. If that is 70 percent, then your alimony obligation would be $417.90.

You can learn more about the guidelines governing child support in Kentucky by continuing to explore our site.