To calculate Child Support payments you will need:
- Your last paycheck stub, W-2s, or an estimate of your monthly gross income.
- Your spouse’s last paycheck stub, W-2s, or an estimate of your spouses’s monthly gross income.
- The combined income table at the Utah.gov site
- The appropriate child support worksheet.
In Utah, child support is calculated using a child support worksheet. There are three different child support worksheets. Below you will determine which worksheet you should use.
Child Support Worksheets
- Sole custody worksheet: Use this worksheet if only one parent has the child(ren) for greater than 111 overnights annually.
- Joint custody worksheet: Use this worksheet if each parent has the child(ren) for greater than 110 overnights annually.
- Split custody worksheet: Use this worksheet if there is more than one minor child in the family and each parent has at least one of the children in their home as if they were the sole custodial parent.
Please be sure to read this succinct description of how custody is defined in Utah.
More about Custody Definitions.
Also, the calculation that you are doing is a rough estimate. The parties gross pay may fluctuate. One of the parties may receive regular and expected overtime as part of their work. One parent may have more than one job or source of income and there is an argument as to which source is the primary source of income. This worksheet calculation is intended to provide you with an idea of the child support that may result in your case. However, it is not intended to constitute legal advice and may or may not be accurate as to what the court will award.
Notice that the calculation is based on gross income while alimony calculations are based on net incomes. There is no alimony worksheet; alimony awards are based on a number of factors and is very difficult to predict.
Hope that this basic information has been helpful. Please feel free to comment or ask questions. Thank you!
This is helpful thank you. I have a question on the medical premiums. In Utah code 78B-12-212, does part 5 only apply if the insurance does not clearly state the child’s portion? What if the insurance premium does clearly state which portion is for the parent and which is for the child, are you still required to recalculate the child’s portion?
Thanks for stopping by our site. We are so glad that you found it to be helpful to you. If your court order or decree doesn’t say otherwise, the court will most likely apply the code as it reads regardless of whether the insurance company defines the “child’s portion” in some other way.