In Georgia, How Much Money You Make Doesn’t Matter for the Purposes of Child Support
In this article I will be discussing does it matter how much money your spouse or significant other make for purposes of determining child support? This question applies whether you will be the party paying support, or the party receiving support. As the answer is the same for both sides.
One of the more common questions posed by clients on the issue of child support in the State of Georgia is does my wife’s, husband’s, girlfriends, or significant other’s income matter for determining child support. The answer (with a caveat I will discuss) is no.
The Georgia Supreme Court made this clear in its recent Blumenshine vs. Hall decision. What the court specifically stated, without ambiguity is that “the trial court COULD not consider the income of father’s new wife when determining father’s child support obligation: father’s wife had no legal obligation to support father’s children from a prior marriage.”
It is hard to be clearer. Only the payer of child support has an obligation to pay child support, and any person the payer of child support lives with, even if it is his or her new wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, significant other, has no legal obligation to support his children. And since that person has no legal obligation to support your children, that person’s income is utterly irrelevant for purposes of calculating child support.
Even if you marry a millionaire, say Donald Trump, your rich spouse’s income will not be taken into consideration in determining your child support obligation. That does not mean that your rich spouse is irrelevant to the case, but just that his or her income will not considered in setting child support.
Having a rich spouse is relevant for multiple reason, however. For example: If you decide not to work because your spouse earns enough money so you don’t have to work. Or you voluntarily take lower paying work than you are capable of because you just don’t need the money. In such a case the court can impute income to you in the amount that you would earn if you had to work to support yourself.
Your “rich” spouse may also pay for your living expenses, like house, car, groceries, clothes, etc. In such a case, the fact that you do not incur these expenses can be used to try to justify and upward deviation of child support.
There are other exceptions that I can think of arguing as well, but in the end, no matter how much money your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, significant other makes, it will be utterly irrelevant in determining the amount of child support that the court orders. This is true whether or not you are the paying party or the party receiving child support. This rule is so prominent that at Shaw Law Firm, we even object to any discovery requests regarding our client’s spouse’s income. Their income is their business, and utterly irrelevant to a child support proceeding, if it is not their child being supported.
Contact us or call today to learn how Shaw Law can work with you to achieve the best outcome possible for you and your children.
Scott Shaw is founder and principle of Shaw Law Firm LLC, founded in 1995 and dedicated solely to divorce, family law and child custody matters that must be addressed and decided in the state of Georgia. Shaw Law Firm serves the greater Metro Atlanta area, particularly the counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding, Henry, Fayette, Coweta, Newton, Walton, Bartow and Douglas. Schedule a consultation today at 770-594-8309.