Divorce Lawyer - Deviating From Louisiana's Child Support

Clients sometimes put an extraordinary amount of pressure on their divorce lawyer to ensure that they pay as little child support as possible. While unfortunate, child support is invariably viewed by some clients as a payment to the other parent that they are bound to make. Many spouses are able to get out of spousal support payments, but, because child support is usually mandatory, getting out of it can become a problem. This means that the parent paying may wish to reduce support by an amount that is fair to all. The law in Louisiana allows for the non-domiciliary parent to claim certain reductions. (The non-domiciliary parent is the parent who often is paying child support, but not always.)

The standard that a divorce lawyer will look to see if the parent qualifies for a reduction from the child support guidelines depends on the situation of that parent. The law states that when a parent has custody of a child for more than seventy three (73) days a year that parent may get a credit (a day is defined by the court but cannot be less than four hours). Generally, however, the parent must prove that he or she has a lot of visitation and that this is reducing the domiciliary parent's expenses causing either inequity or a situation not in the best interests of the child. From looking court rulings in Louisiana, there is no formula for a divorce lawyer to tell the parent how much their monthly payment would go down by, if at all - the court may chose not to reduce the amount.

Some courts (such as in St. Tammany Parish) enforce the 1/12th rule that says that the payments can go down if the non-domiciliary has the child during the summer months. This is calculated by figuring support pursuant to the guidelines and then multiplying this amount by eleven and then dividing by twelve to reach a monthly award amount. The reason for this is that it is a way to split the difference between the increased costs that one parent is incurring and the need to maintain expenses by the parent who does not have the child.

But, just as an amount can be pushed down, a divorce lawyer can also argue to increase the amount other than with the methods proscribed in the child support guidelines. This primarily happens when one parent's income is beyond the mandatory guidelines. Here, the primary factor is the amount that the parent earns rather than the actual needs of the child. (A court, though, will likely be figuring out how to maintain the standard of living the child had prior to the end of the parents' relationship.)

Despite all of the above, the best tools for a divorce lawyer to use to influence a court in setting the child support amount are those found in the mandatory guidelines. There are sufficient tools in these to greatly expand and greatly diminish the support amount, as long as the child's best interests are not diminished.

Will Beaumont is a lawyer in New Orleans. This article is strictly informational and not legal advice.