Frequently Asked Questions About Child Support In Oregon

An illustration of a mother and father sitting in the scales of justice, surrounded by children, a home, and other marital assets

Have questions about child support in Oregon? DBMA can help!

When dealing with issues pertaining to the well-being of your children, we know that ensuring their best interests is always your top priority.

Still, when these situations are associated with life events like divorce and custody disputes, they can become much more stressful, and sometimes more difficult to navigate.

At DBMA, we want these situations to be resolved for you as quickly and as equitably as possible, and one way we can help you reach that resolution is by sharing the information that matters most to you.

Today, we’re providing you with answers and recommendations to some of the most commonly asked questions relating to child support in Oregon. Use this information as a basic guide, and if you need more counsel, don’t hesitate to contact our practice for assistance.

Our team is here to help you get the attentive service and productive resolutions your family law dispute deserves!

Why is child support important?

Child support is an incredibly important way of ensuring that a child’s most basic needs are met, and that each parent is contributing equitably to that child’s needs.

Typically, child support in Oregon is paid on a monthly basis for those situations in which both parents do not share the same household.

The general level of support mandated for a specific child is usually determined by the combined income of each parent and the average amount of money spent at that particular income level in order to support the child.

Who is child support for?

In most instances, the parent who has parenting time of the child more than 50% of the time is the parent who receives child support payments from the other parent. However, even if a parent has more parenting time, that parent may be the obligor (the paying party) if their income is significantly higher than the other parent’s income, or if other factors are present.

Child support is paid for the well-being of the child, and is a financial responsibility in addition to things like health insurance, other medical expenses, and childcare. A child’s custody arrangement is a large determining factor in these responsibilities.

How is child support calculated?

In Oregon, child support is calculated using a formula set by the state, and parties can see how that calculation is done using the state’s calculator at the Child Support Division website.

The child support calculator combines each parents’ gross monthly income, the amount of spousal support that might be owed to them or by them, and other factors like union dues, social security, disability, or veteran’s benefits, healthcare costs, and childcare costs, among others.

In the instance that the parents can’t agree on the support determined using the calculator tool, the court will make a judgment on the appropriate amount owed.

Though these determinations often come in tandem with custody or divorce cases, they don’t have to be. A parent can request child support through the Oregon Child Support Program, even when there is no established or pending case, so long as paternity is proven.

How is child support paid?

For most residents in Oregon, child support is paid through payroll reduction, meaning that your employer will withhold the appropriate amount of funds from your paycheck, and send them to the Oregon Child Support Program so that they can be distributed accordingly.

Why isn’t child support tax deductible?

Though we’re not financial advisors or tax experts here at DBMA Family Law, we can tell you that the basic idea behind child support is that these funds are intended to go toward things such as food, shelter, and clothing, all of which are not tax deductible expenditures.

Essentially, you can’t deduct these personal expenses on your tax return, and you can’t deduct them in the instance of child support, either.

When does child support end?

Most commonly, child support will end for a child once they turn 18. However, child support in Oregon can be extended up to a person’s reaching 21 years of age if they are able to qualify as a “Child Attending School.”

Those qualifications include a current child support order, a determination that the child support judgment is not fully satisfied within court records, the child support order must include “child attending school language, and the child cannot be emancipated.

Child support will also end when the child is legally emancipated, marries, does not supply a record of intent to attend school, stops attending school, or graduates from school, in addition to other factors.

Is a child support determination permanent?

Child support orders actually can be modified, either by the court itself or through Oregon’s Child Support Program, but review or modification of a support award requires either a “substantial change of circumstances” or 36 months since the last support order was entered.

What constitutes a “substantial change of circumstances?” Well, this would mean that something significant has taken place in either the income of either parent, or the needs of the child have also drastically changed.

In order for this to be considered, the parent who is requesting the change must petition the court for child support modification or take action with the Child Support Program.