How a Divorce Attorney May Offset Child Support in Louisiana

When a married couple with children is ending their marriage in the state of Louisiana, there are many considerations for a divorce attorney to make.  First and foremost should be those decisions which deal with the well-being of the children.  Two issues often become paramount in these situations: where will the child live, and who will financially support the child? Both child custody and child support are issues that are dealt with directly in the Louisiana Revised Statutes and the Louisiana Civil Code.  Today’s article considers factors which may offset the award of child support.

Let’s say that Mark and Diane were married for six years.  Their marriage produced one daughter, Sam.  Sam was five years old when Mark and Diane each decided to get a divorce attorney.  After the marriage was legally ended, a Louisiana court determined that Diane would be the sole custodial parent and that Mark was entitled to visitation rights.  The court also took into account the relative gross adjusted income of both the parents, and affixed a child support award which Mark would owe Diane on a regular basis to care for Sam.

Things continue according to this plan for the next ten years.  Then something happened that a divorce attorney rarely sees.  Sam was very precocious.  In fact, she was so smart that she graduated high school at 15.  Rather than going directly to college, Sam wanted to take some time off to do her favorite thing: writing.   She often wrote short stories and poems and other small works of fiction, but her favorite thing to write was screen plays.  Both Mark and Diane were very supportive and encouraging of Sam writing these screenplays, and they found them very entertaining.  One such screenplay was so brilliant that Diane sent it to a friend of hers in Hollywood.  About a year later, Diane received the good news that Sam’s script was bought by a major Hollywood studio.  As part of the purchase, Sam would receive a lump sum payment in addition to royalty payments based on the success of the movie.

The movie was an instant hit and it grossed over one hundred million dollars.  Because of the contract Sam had with the movie studio, she was entitled to a good amount of this money.

Mark is very proud of his daughter, but in light of her recent success, he calls his divorce attorney to find out if he really needs to continue paying the child support which he has been dutifully providing for the past eleven years.  One way for Mark to perhaps get out of his obligation is through Louisiana Revised Statute 9:315.7. This statute states, in relevant part, that the “Income of the child that can be used to reduce the basic needs of the child may be considered as a deduction from the basic child support obligation.”

Only certain types of children’s income can be considered to reduce the child support award.  In order to be deducted, the child’s income must not come while the child is in school “full time.”  Due to the peculiar example we have just described, a divorce attorney may find that Sam meets this requirement.

This above is informational only, not legal advice. Will Beaumont. New Orleans.