Effective June 1, 2011, child support in Arizona has been changed with the implementation of the new Arizona Supreme Court Child Support Guidelines. While much has stayed the same from the 2005 version used until recently, there have been several important changes that will affect many people paying or receiving child support.
The Self Support Reserve has been raised to $903, meaning after paying child support a parent must be left with at least $903 remaining from their income or attributed income, or the Court must lower their child support.
Claiming the children for federal and state tax deductions is now to be divided proportionally between the parties based upon the proportion of income, with clarification as to the rounding. This may allow a modification of child support that would increase or decrease the number of children that either parent can claim in a given tax year.
These new changes make it so that the 2011 changes are effective for cases in which the child support order is entered after June 1, 2011. Prior changes were only effective for cases filed after a certain date. This will cause cases that are currently pending to proceed under the modified child support amounts.
Finally, in general, the child support amounts have risen. For families with one or two children, the increase is not as significant, but for families with greater numbers of children, the increase in support can be substantial.
To learn more about these changes, or to discuss modifying or establishing child support in your case, please contact one of the experienced family law attorneys with McGuire Gardner, a division of Davis Miles PLLC, by calling 800-899-2730 or learn more by visiting our website at www.yourarizonadivorcelawyer.com.