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New Study Shows Child Support Guidelines in Need of Reform



 
 
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Old June 30th 04, 01:21 AM
Dusty
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Default New Study Shows Child Support Guidelines in Need of Reform

New Study Shows Child Support Guidelines in Need of Reform

June 26, 2004


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by Jeffrey Leving and Glenn Sacks
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A new study of child support has concluded that most states' child support
guidelines are poorly designed, inequitable, and in need of reform.
California's guidelines, which are among the highest in the nation,
exemplify this inequity, and often place such privations on noncustodial
parents that they are unable to remain a meaningful part of their children's
lives.

The study, "Child Support Guidelines and the Equalization of Living
Standards," was conducted by psychology professors Sanford Braver and David
Stockburger, and will appear in the soon-to-be-released book The Law and
Economics of Child Support Payments.

The researchers conclude that nationwide "under current child support
guidelines, the majority of custodial parents currently have higher
standards of living than their matched noncustodial parents," and that in
some situations this inequity is "dramatic."

A recent study of California child support obligors conducted by the Urban
Institute reflects the effects of these high guidelines, particularly as
they impact low-income and minority men. According to the report, only 25%
of California's $14.4 billion child support arrearage will be collected over
the next decade, not because the debt is owed by high living divorced dads
who won't pay, but because the support amounts demanded of noncustodial
parents are often wildly unrealistic. The average arrears amount owed is
$3,000 higher than the median annual earnings of employed child support
debtors. Those in the poorest category have a child support debt amounting
to their full net income for seven and a half years. Over a quarter of the
arrears total represents interest due on principal.

Braver and Stockburger conclude that the guidelines have become tilted again
st noncustodial parents in large part because they fail to consider the
significant tax benefits accorded only to custodial parents. Whereas child
support income is tax-free to the custodial parent, noncustodial parents
must pay federal, state, and local income tax, as well as social security or
FICA, on the money they pay in support. Also, in most cases only the
custodial parent can claim the $3,050 per child tax exemption. Additional
custodial parent tax advantages include: the Child Tax Credit (worth up to
$1,000 per child); the Earned Income Credit (up to $4,204, with two
children); deductions for school tuition and fees (up to $3,000 per return);
the Child Care Credit (worth up to $1,050 per child); and a lower tax rate
for "head of household" filing status.

Conversely, the federal tax code treats divorced and unwed fathers--who are
often paying 40 or 50 percent of their net income in child support--as if
they are childless bachelors.

Also, Braver and Stockburger point out that the current guidelines and the
studies upon which they were based ignore the many child-related costs borne
by noncustodial parents, including transportation, entertainment, and food
during visitation, as well as money spent on clothes and out-of-pocket
medical and dental expenses. And because California has been extremely
permissive in allowing custodial parent move-aways, noncustodial parents
often shoulder sizable burdens in travel expenses.

If fact, the researchers probably understate the child support inequities
noncustodial fathers face. Because the child support system is so
inflexible, most fathers who lose their jobs or suffer wage cuts are not
able to get downward modifications on their child support. These fathers end
up paying support based on past wage levels which do not reflect their
current, diminished earnings.

In addition, while California is generally enthusiastic about enforcing
child support orders, its courts are indifferent at best to enforcing
noncustodial parents' visitation rights--rights which studies show are
frequently violated. Noncustodial parents must pay out of pocket for legal
representation to enforce these rights. Few family issues are as
heartbreaking as the common scenario of a noncustodial father paying so much
of his income in child support that he cannot even afford to go to court to
fight for his right to see his children.

Many California fathers who fall in arrears on their child support suffer
punitive measures, such as suspension or loss of driver's licenses,
passports, and business licenses. Others struggle to stay out of jail or
feel it's hopeless and disappear. Most of these men aren't deadbeats, but
instead fathers who worked hard to support their children both before and
after their breakups with their children's mothers.

Children need financial support, but they also need their parents' love and
emotional support. What rationale is there for California's child support
guidelines if they serve to harm or drive away one of the two people who
most love a child?

------------------------------------------------------------
Eliminate the impossible and whatever
remains, no matter how improbable, must
be the truth.

---- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ---


 




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