How Much Is Child Support In Oregon for One Child?
Wondering how much is child support in Oregon for one child? DBMA can help!
The process of determining child support can sometimes be stressful for parents. For many, it’s a new experience, and with that new experience comes the need for quality resources that help make this life transition as smooth as possible.
DBMA is here to help you understand the child support process so that you feel informed, empowered, and confident in your ability to achieve the outcome that will best support your child as you begin to co-parent across multiple households.
In this blog, you’ll learn:
How the child support process works in Oregon
How child support payments are decided in Oregon
Where you can find resources to help you create the best outcome for your child
How does Oregon define child support?
Child support, simply put, is money paid from one parent to another in order to meet the needs of the child.
In order to make certain that those needs are met, the court or the Oregon Child Support Program will order one parent to make child support payments of a specified amount to the other parent (or guardian, or sometimes even the state), typically on a monthly basis.
Most often, child support payments are made between parties who do not share the same household.
Many people entering into child support agreements may wonder what the funds are intended to go towards.
The specific use of child support payments is generally up to the discretion of the parent receiving the payments, but, broadly speaking, child support payments can be used toward a child’s household expenses, clothes, groceries, child care, among other needs.
The premiums for health insurance are included in monthly child support payments and the child’s portion of the premium is seen as a form of child support in Oregon.
How is the amount of child support determined in Oregon?
The Oregon Child Support Program developed and maintains an online calculator to help parents understand what their financial obligation might be in providing support for their child. Or, conversely, what the other parent may owe them in support of their child.
There are specific categories that the Oregon Child Support Program uses to make this estimate. They include:
General information
This information will include details about the parents, such as their names, and their relationship to the child (mother, father, or alleged father).
General information will also include if the child is in state care (this would include children in the foster care system or children in the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority), and whether or not the child is a minor, if the child is not a minor but between the ages of 18 and 21 and attending school, or some combination of these factors.
These details will be used if the support in question will go toward one or more children.
Income information
The income information that will be entered into the calculator will focus on:
Each parents’ gross monthly income (your income before taxes and deductions)
Any spousal support either parent might be owed — even if it has yet to be paid
Spousal support that either parent might owe to anyone (again, it doesn’t matter if it’s been paid or not, it must be documented here)
If applicable, either parents’ union dues must also be captured under income information
Children information
Here, you’ll enter the names and the number of overnights with each parent for your minor children.
You can also include children who are the age of 18 but are still attending high school.
If there are childcare-related costs for children under 13 or who have disabilities, then this is where those costs would be captured in the child support calculator.
Additionally, if a child receives benefits from a retired parent, or benefits via a parent’s whose Social Security or veterans-related payments, then those benefits should also be included here in the calculator.
Lastly, if there are any non-joint children in the households, then the number of those children must be documented in the child support calculator.
Healthcare information
The calculator should also include healthcare information, such as how much each parent pays for their own personal healthcare coverage, whether or not each parent has available coverage for each joint child, and any associated out of pocket expenses related to enrolling the joint children in healthcare.
So then, how much is child support in Oregon for one child?
As you can see from the information above, there is no set amount for child support in the state of Oregon.
The Oregon Child Support Program takes a number of different factors into consideration when estimating this number, and the amount will vary depending on each parents’ income among many other important considerations.
It’s also important to reiterate that the Oregon Child Support Program’s calculator is an estimate, not an absolute when it comes to deciding child support. A parent being asked to make a child support payment at a certain amount also has the opportunity to rebut that presumptive amount.
Need support as you navigate through the child support process? Call DBMA!
In our opinion, the most important thing any parent can do is to ensure that their child has access to the resources they need that help them lead a healthy, flourishing life.
Our team is composed of family law attorneys devoted to helping our clients achieve the best possible outcomes for their children.