Couples in Arkansas that get divorced while they have minor children still at home often need to determine child support payments from one parent to the other during the course of their divorce settlement discussions. Which parent must pay child support is one of the decisions to be made and may be influenced by how much time the children spend with each parent. The other decision that needs to be agreed upon is how much child support will be paid from one parent to the other, how frequently and for how long.
Forbes explains that when it comes to determining child support payments, there is an incredibly wide variance among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The calculators or factors evaluated by each are far from consistent. In Arkansas, it appears some payments are far higher than a software program that may be used indicates may be reasonable.
According to the State of Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, a person who may be ordered to pay child support can input basic information into an online calculator. This will then produce a recommended amount of support to be paid. Interestingly, the financial information including income of the parent who will receive the child support is not factored into this equation.
The factors that are requested include the amount of any existing support awards for other children, the number of children that the new award is for and the income of the person who will pay the support. That person’s payroll deductions for taxes and health care insurance for children may be deducted.