Child support in South Carolina is a legal obligation that ensures both parents contribute financially to the well-being of their child. The amount is determined based on state guidelines, considering factors such as each parent’s income, healthcare costs, and childcare expenses. The goal is to provide for the child’s needs and maintain a standard of living consistent with the parents’ financial capabilities.
You can estimate your fair share of support by using the South Carolina’s Child Support Guidelines. In most circumstances, the amount of a child support payment depends on the number of children and the income of both parents. In addition, parents must cover the cost of the child’s medical care, childcare, and other expenses, like those required for the child’s education. The way the parents split their parenting time (custody) also impacts how payments are divided between them.
Typically, a child support payment depends on the number of children, both parents’ income, and is impacted by custody.
As experts in child support matters, Harden Law Firm works with your family to make the best possible determinations for your children’s present and future.
Child support in South Carolina is determined based on the South Carolina Child Support Guidelines, which consider both parents’ incomes, the number of children, and other factors.
Yes, child support can be modified if there is a substantial change in circumstances, such as a significant increase or decrease in either parent’s income.
Child support is not the same as alimony. Alimony is intended to address an unfair financial imbalance when one spouse’s income was greater and the other spouse relied on that income for their standard of living. Child support, on the other hand, is intended solely to assist with the expenses of child-rearing.
Child support is mandatory if the family court has ordered you to pay it – whether that is in a final divorce decree, a final order in a child support action, or in a temporary order that is issued early on in your divorce case. If you fail to pay court-ordered child support, you may lose your driver’s license, and you may be held in contempt of court.
Child support can also be agreed upon without going to court, although it is probably in your best interest to get a court order that details how much child support is to be paid each month.
So, it’s not mandatory unless the Court orders it, right? What if there is no court order and your former spouse has not asked for child support? It may still be in your best interest to pay a reasonable amount of child support – if you do not, your former spouse may be able to go to court later and ask for payment of unpaid child support from the date of your separation (whether a parent can retroactively collect child support without a prior court order is not clear under SC law).
Also, SC law makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in prison when an able-bodied parent refuses to pay a reasonable amount of child support, with or without a prior court order.
In general, child support ends when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school. In some situations, however, child support may end before the child is 18 or continue after the child is 18.
You may have to file a motion asking the family court to terminate child support, and you should consult with your family law attorney before deciding to stop paying child support.
Child support may be terminated before a child is 18 if:
Child support may continue after a child is 18 when:
Client Testimonials
Haley is knowledgeable, caring and personal. If you need legal advice look no further, Haley is the attorney you are looking for.
Jennifer C.
Our family, helping yours.
Harden Law Firm provides a full range of Family Law legal services to Fort Mill and York County South Carolina.
Family Law
Practice Areas
About
Business Hours
Monday 9am-5pm
Tuesday 9am-5pm
Wednesday 9am-5pm
Thursday 9am-5pm
Friday 9am-12pm
Sat & Sun Closed
© 2024 Harden Law Firm
