Will child support change if I get married? Either parent, the payor (the parent paying support) or the payee (the parent receiving support) may remarry. Both may worry about this issue. First though, let’s look into what goes into child support.
How Child Support is Calculated
Courts calculate child Support in Minnesota mainly based on four factors:
- The Mother’s Parenting Time with Child
- The Father’s Parenting Time with Child
- The Mother’s Income
- The Father’s Income
Other factors can also influence the calculation. For example, a child from another relationship in one of the households can change the number. However, income from adults other than the mother and father are not part of the calculation. Click here to look over the calculator.
As an aside, Minnesota child support calculations also do not include the income of anyone a parent has moved in with. This is regardless of whether the parent is married or not to that person. In fact, Minnesota statutes specifically exclude such income.
Will Child Support Change if I Get Married?
Child support will not change upon remarriage. As stated above, child support calculations exclude other adults’ income. In Minnesota, a parent is only financially responsible for his or her own children.
Therefore, if you decide to marry, your spouse will not become financially responsible for children from a previous relationship. In effect, the amount of child support you pay will not increase or decrease.
For the Parent who is Marrying and Receives Child Support
Also, a payee’s new spouse has no financial obligation to the payee’s children. In this case, the payor parent is still responsible to provide financial support.
Therefore, if you receive child support and you remarry, the payor parent will still need to pay the same amount he or she was paying in child support before you got re-married.
For the Parent who is Marrying and Pays Child Support
On the other side of the coin, for the payor, you will not pay more or less in child support now because of your marriage or new cohabitation.
As the parent paying child support, the court will not use a higher household income for the calculations. The court will also not decrease your child support payments because have you have married or now live with someone else.
In sum, regardless of which side of the child support formula the parent is on, his or her new spouse’s income will not affect child support calculations.
However, children with a new spouse may impact child support. Therefore, children from other marriages can impact child support calculations.
For other divorce or family law questions, please consult the list to the left or the FAQ page. If you’re interested in retaining an attorney to help you, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation using the contact information on the left or the contact form on the Majeski Law home page.