Child Support Calculation

Where Defendant-Father’s business paid his new Wife excessive consulting fees (which she used to buy a property for both of them), it was not an ordinary and necessary business expense; therefore it should not be deducted from Father’s income for the purposes of calculating child support. The Father’s change in income actually changes the factors the court must consider in setting child support. Because the parents’ combined adjusted gross income is more than $25,000/month or $300,00/year, the supporting parent’s obligation can’t be calculated using the standard child support schedule. In such cases, the court is required to set an amount that meets the child’s reasonable needs (not merely extrapolating from the guidelines).