Family Law and Divorce Law Blog

By Craig Franklin Chambers. Esquire

Vol.1.3   September 3, 2016

The Littleton Lawyer

As a family law and divorce attorney practicing in all metro area jurisdictions, including Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Denver, Lakewood, and Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson County , I often deal with the issues of child support.

In Colorado, a child support obligation lasts until the child turns 19 or is emancipated. That means that in a typical divorce, child support should be reviewed periodically to insure that the obligation is in accordance with the statutory guidelines.

Child support obligations are based on the parties’ income and the number of overnights each parent has with the child.  Pursuant to C.R.S. 14-10-115, a child support order can be changed if there is a 10% change in child support obligation.

Here are five things that can happen that could affect child support.

First, if your income and that of your X changes, either by way of a raise, or a job change, and the child support obligation changes by 10% or more, the child support obligation can be adjusted. Of course, this has to be a substantial and continuing change.  For this reason, it is important to get financial information such as tax returns from your X every year or so you can determine if a 10% change has occurred.

Second, if the work-related daycare costs change, that can result in a 10% change. That cost also needs to be verified at least once a year. Another change, the extraordinary medical or educational costs for the child.

Fourth, if the parties agree on a change in parenting time, that change could affect the child support obligation. And lastly, the legislature periodically adjusts the child support obligation charts for inflation.

The child support calculation charts are available for free on the Colorado Supreme Court website. My  tip is to keep current on these factors and periodically calculate the child support to determine if the 10% change has occurred.