Child support in New Jersey is an obligation that runs from parent to child rather than from parent to parent. When viewed through this prism, Child Support Law in New Jersey becomes more easily understood.
Determining Child Support in New Jersey
In most instances, the child support amount will be determined by the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines. These guidelines take the form of a complicated equation. Some of the factors taken into consideration by the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines include:
• Both parties’ income from all sources, (both earned and unearned, including alimony)
• The amount of overnight parenting time exercised by each parent.
• The children’s ages.
• The number of children.
• Health Care and Child Care costs.
• Support Paid for children from another relationship.
As the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines are an algorithm, most disputes involve the methodology or actual data input. For instance, a party may argue that their ex-spouse earns a substantial but unreported sum of money from tips, which would affect that spouses’ income and expected taxes–and therefore the amount of child support due.
Child Support Law in New Jersey: Please Keep in Mind…
In the past, I have had some clients misunderstand the nature of each party’s child support obligation.
For instance, many parents of alternate residence believe that they are paying for all of the children’s support. In most instances, however, this simply is not so.
A parent of primary residence may not have a probation account, but they are still paying for all of the children’s expenses not covered by the child support payments. In fact, except in very rare instances, neither party has a 100% obligation to support their children. It is a shared obligation.
Likewise, many parents of primary residence expect the child support to cover all of the children’s expenses. Again, the goal is shared expenses for the children.
Deviation from the Child Support Guidelines
There are some instances where child support guidelines will not be used, or the final support obligation will deviate from the child support amount. Two such instances are:
• Child Support Guidelines are generally not used when an adult child resides away from home during college.
• Child Support Guidelines are generally not used when the net income of the parties’ (from all sources) exceeds $187,200. In this instance, a deviation from the New Jersey Child Support Guidelines may be necessary.[1]
Modification of Child Support in New Jersey
When a child support account is established through Family Support Services/Probation, there will often be periodic increases in support (cost of living adjustments, i.e. COLA). Likewise, the parties may agree to revisit child support at certain set intervals such as every three (3) years. Child support may also be modified, however, at any time–should there be a change in circumstances. Some common examples of what may be considered a change in circumstances include:
• Modification of custody or parenting time.
• Changes in the incomes of the parties (positive or negative).
• Job loss, serious illness, and/or disability.
• Emancipation of one or more children.
Termination of Child Support in New Jersey
Until recently New Jersey did not assume the emancipation of a child or the termination of child support upon a child’s eighteenth birthday. In fact, appellate cases even stated that a child could even be “unemancipated.” However, legislation codified and enacted in February 2017 now creates a presumption of emancipation and termination of child support once a child reaches nineteen (19) years of age. It is then incumbent upon the parent receiving support (obligee/parent of primary residence) to petition the Court to demonstrate that emancipation is not appropriate due for reasons that would include disability, the continued pursuit of high school or post-secondary education or for other good cause. At that point in time good cause for staying emancipation would be considered a shift in the burden back to the obligor (parent paying support). This new statute also states that emancipation must occur no later than when a child reaches 23 years of age.
The basic legal threshold for emancipation in New Jersey is commonly referred to as when a child has moved beyond the “sphere and influence” of his or her parents. It is rare for a Court to find that a student attending college full-time, directly after high school, has moved beyond the “sphere and influence” of his or her parents and that is not likely to change even with the burden-shifting provisions enacted under recent legislative measures.
Partner with Carl Taylor, Esq.
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