Article Written By: Matthew Peatnerburn
One of the major issues that need to be resolved in a divorce case is the issue of child support and custody. This issue is a very important matter since the child's interests should be taken care of. The divorce proceeding is already a distressing matter on the part of the child, hence the aftermath of the divorce - custody and support - ought to be handled properly. The child's emotional and physical well-being must be taken care of properly after the termination of the marriage of the parents. Apart from custody, the issue of child support will be decided by the court to ensure the childandrsquo;s continuous emotional and physical growth without disturbance. The child is already stressed as it is by the proceedings, this must be lessened by ensuring the childandrsquo;s welfare after the parents have separated.Under the law, both parents generally have the responsibility to give support on the child, whether they are divorced or not and whether custody has been given to one of the parents or shared by both of them. The parents should continue to support the childandrsquo;s welfare even if they have been divorced already. The parentsandrsquo; support on the child will continue until the child reaches the legal age, 18 years old, or until the minor child has graduated from high school.In Minnesota, there are three basic elements of child support. These are monthly support payments, medical insurance and a division of uninsured costs between the parents and expenses for the childandrsquo;s care. The payments for these support components must be given to the child ensure his/her continued emotional and physical development. The support will be calculated based on the parentsandrsquo; income or earning capacity. The payments for the support on the child will be divided proportionally upon both parents.Failure to pay the support on time will have consequences. Under Minnesota law, the unpaid payments will become an arrearage and the parent will have to appear before the court to explain suh delay in the payment. The parent who failed to pay the monthly support and other payments may be sanctioned by the court. The sanctions would include the denial or revocation of the parentandrsquo;s professional, driverandrsquo;s or other licenses. It may also include the holding of the parentandrsquo;s bank accounts.The terms of the child support may also be changed or modified for some valid reasons. The court may award a modification of the support if, for example, there is significant change in the income of the parents. If one of the parents lost a job and is not likely to find another one at the soonest time or if he/she may find another job the salary is substantially lower, the court may change the terms of the prior support arrangements. However, the change in support will not affect parenting time, which means the time to be devoted by the parent to the child will remain.The above considerations only mean that child support should be given a serious attention by the parents even if the child is under the custody of only one parent. The court and the laws are designed to protect the interests of the child after a divorce or any kind of marriage termination.
Matthew Peatnerburn is author of this article on Minnesota Divorce Attorney. Find more information about Minnesota Uncontested Divorce here.
This Article Has Been Published on Wed, 21 Jan 2009 and Read 342 Times