There are actually three different but related types of child support in Utah for divorced and unmarried parents who obtain child support orders either through administrative means or through a court proceeding:
1) What is known as “base monthly child support,” which, as the name denotes, is a fixed amount of money paid monthly to the child support obligee (payee). A parent’s base monthly child support payment obligation is calculated using a combination of factors consisting of a) the gross monthly incomes of each parent; b) the number of overnights the children spend with each parent, and in rare cases, c) whether custody of multiple children is “split,” meaning that each parent has primary physical custody of one or more of the children from the same family. Under a split custody arrangement, siblings are “split” between parents’ homes rather than all children moving together between both parents’ respective homes.
To learn more about how base monthly child support is calculated and paid, review these sections of the Utah Code:
Section 201 Definitions for part.
Section 202 Determination of amount of child support — Application of child support guidelines — Requirements for child support order.
Section 203 Determination of gross income for child support — Imputing income to a parent.
Section 204 General provisions for calculating child support — Determination of base combined child support obligation.
Section 205 Sole physical custody — Obligation calculations — Change in physical custody.
Section 206 Joint physical custody — Obligation calculations.
Section 207 Split physical custody — Obligation calculations.
Section 211 Reduction for extended parent-time.
Section 212 Modification of child support order — Adjustment of child support.
Section 213 Adjustment to child support when child becomes emancipated.
Section 214 Accountability of support provided to benefit child — Accounting.
Title 81, Chapter 6, Part 3. Child Support Tables
2) The costs of work-related child care, the costs of which are usually ordered to be shared equally between parents; and
To learn more about how work-related child care responsibility is divided between parents and how parents reimburse each other for these expenses, review these sections of the Utah Code:
Section 209 Requirements for a child support order regarding child care costs and expenses — Actual expenses for child care.
3) The costs of child medical, dental, hospital insurance (essentially health care insurance) premiums and the cost of uninsured child reasonable and necessary health care expenses, the costs of which are usually ordered to be shared equally between parents.
To learn more about how child health care expenses are divided between parents and how parents reimburse each other for these expenses, review these sections of the Utah Code:
Section 208 Requirements for a child support order regarding medical expenses — Determination of parental liability for medical expenses.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277
Utah Code Title 81. Utah Domestic Relations Code. Chapter 6. Child Support
