(1)

divorce

Ask a divorce law question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified divorce lawyers.
Specialties include: Family Law, Custody, Divorce, Child Support, Child Protection, Alimony, and more.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Utah Code 81-6-202

  • Administrative agency: means the Office of Recovery Services or the Department of Health and Human Services. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Alimony: means the same as that term is defined in Section 81-4-101. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Base child support award: means the award that may be ordered and is calculated using the child support guidelines before additions for medical expenses and work-related child care costs. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Child: means :
         (7)(a) a son or daughter who is under 18 years old and who is not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States;
         (7)(b) a son or daughter who is 18 years old or older while enrolled in high school during the normal and expected year of graduation and not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States; or
         (7)(c) a son or daughter of any age who is incapacitated from earning a living and, if able to provide some financial resources to the family, is not able to support self by own means. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Child support: includes current periodic payments, arrearages that accrue under an order for current periodic payments, and sum certain judgments awarded for arrearages, medical expenses, and child care costs. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Child support guidelines: means the calculation and application of child support as described in Part 2, Calculation and Adjustment of Child Support. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Child support order: means a judgment, decree, or order issued by a tribunal whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, that:
         (10)(a) establishes or modifies child support;
         (10)(b) reduces child support arrearages to judgment; or
         (10)(c) establishes child support or registers a child support order under Title 78B, Chapter 14, Utah Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Child support tables: means the tables described in Part 3, Child Support Tables. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Court: means :
         (2)(a) a judge; or
         (2)(b) a court commissioner if the court commissioner has authority to hear the matter under Section 78A-5-107 or the Utah Rules of Judicial Administration. See Utah Code 81-1-101
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Income: includes :
              (15)(b)(i) all gain derived from capital assets, labor, or both, including profit gained through sale or conversion of capital assets;
              (15)(b)(ii) interest and dividends;
              (15)(b)(iii) periodic payments made under pension or retirement programs or insurance policies of any type;
              (15)(b)(iv) unemployment compensation benefits;
              (15)(b)(v) workers' compensation benefits; and
              (15)(b)(vi) disability benefits. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Medical expenses: means health and dental expenses and related insurance costs. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Obligee: means an individual, this state, another state, or another comparable jurisdiction to whom child support is owed or who is entitled to reimbursement of child support or public assistance. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Obligor: means a person owing a duty of support. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Office: means the Office of Recovery Services within the Department of Health and Human Services. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Parent: means a parent with an established parent-child relationship as described in Section 78B-15-201. See Utah Code 81-1-101
  • State: means a state, territory, possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Native American tribe, or other comparable domestic or foreign jurisdiction. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Support: means past-due, present, and future obligations to provide for the financial support, maintenance, or medical expenses of a child. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Support order: means :
         (27)(a) a child support order; or
         (27)(b) a judgment, decree, or order by a tribunal, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, for alimony. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Temporary: means a period of time that is projected to be less than 12 months in duration. See Utah Code 81-6-101
  • Worksheet: means a form used to aid in calculating the base child support award. See Utah Code 81-6-101
     (1)(a) If a prior child support order does not exist, a substantial change in circumstances has occurred, or a petition to modify a child support order as described in Section 81-6-212 is filed, the court determining the amount of prospective child support shall require each party to file a proposed award of child support using the child support guidelines before the court enters or modifies a child support order.
     (1)(b) When no prior child support order exists, the court or administrative agency shall determine and assess all arrearages based upon the child support guidelines.
(2)

     (2)(a) The court or administrative agency shall apply the child support guidelines as a rebuttable presumption in establishing or modifying the amount of temporary or permanent child support.
     (2)(b) The rebuttable presumption means the provisions and considerations required by the child support guidelines, the award amounts resulting from the application of the child support guidelines, and the use of worksheets consistent with the child support guidelines are presumed to be correct, unless the child support guidelines are rebutted in accordance with this section.
(3)

     (3)(a) A written finding or specific finding on the record supporting the conclusion that complying with a provision of the child support guidelines or ordering an award amount resulting from use of the child support guidelines would be unjust, inappropriate, or not in the best interest of a child in a particular case is sufficient to rebut the presumption in that case.
     (3)(b) If an order rebuts the presumption through findings, the order is considered a deviated order.
(4) The following are considered deviations from the child support guidelines, if:

     (4)(a) the order includes a written finding that the order is a deviation from the child support guidelines;
     (4)(b) the worksheet has:

          (4)(b)(i) the box checked for a deviation; and
          (4)(b)(ii) an explanation as to the reason; or
     (4)(c) the deviation is made because there were more children than provided for in the child support tables.
(5) If the amount in the order and the amount on the worksheet differ by $10 or more:

     (5)(a) the order is considered deviated; and
     (5)(b) the incomes listed on the worksheet may not be used in adjusting support for emancipation as described in Section 81-6-213.
(6) If the court finds sufficient evidence to rebut the guidelines as described in Subsection (3), the court shall establish child support after considering all relevant factors, including:

     (6)(a) the standard of living and situation of the parties;
     (6)(b) the relative wealth and income of the parties;
     (6)(c) the ability of the obligor to earn;
     (6)(d) the ability of the obligee to earn;
     (6)(e) the ability of an incapacitated adult child to earn, or other benefits received by the adult child or on the adult child’s behalf including Supplemental Security Income;
     (6)(f) the needs of the obligee, the obligor, and the child;
     (6)(g) the ages of the parties; and
     (6)(h) the responsibilities of the obligor and the obligee for the support of others.
(7)

     (7)(a) If there are children of either parent who live in the home of that parent and are not children in common to both parties, the court or administrative agency, at the option of either party, may take into account the children under the child support guidelines in setting a base child support award as described in Subsection (8).
     (7)(b) Additional worksheets shall be prepared that calculate the base child support award of the respective parents for the additional children.
     (7)(c) The court or administrative agency shall subtract the base child support award calculated under Subsection (7)(b) from the appropriate parent’s income before determining the award in the case described in Subsection (7)(a).
(8) In a proceeding to adjust or modify a child support order, the court or administrative agency may consider children, who are born after the entry of the child support order and are not in common to both parties, to mitigate an increase in the award, but the court or administrative agency may not consider the children:

     (8)(a) for the benefit of the obligee if the credit would increase the support obligation of the obligor from the most recent child support order; or
     (8)(b) for the benefit of the obligor if the amount of support received by the obligee would be decreased from the most recent child support order.
(9) A stipulated amount for child support or combined child support and alimony is adequate under the child support guidelines if the stipulated child support amount or combined amount equals or exceeds the base child support award required by the child support guidelines.
(10) The court shall include the following provisions in a child support order:

     (10)(a) a provision establishing the monthly amount of child support obligation for each parent in accordance with the child support guidelines;
     (10)(b) a provision assigning responsibility for the payment of reasonable and necessary medical expenses for the child as described in Section 81-6-208;
     (10)(c) a provision requiring the purchase and maintenance of appropriate health care insurance for the medical expenses of the child as described in Section 81-6-208 if health care insurance is or becomes available at a reasonable cost;
     (10)(d) a provision regarding the child care expenses and costs as described in Section 81-6-209;
     (10)(e) a provision regarding each parent’s right to claim a child as a tax exemption for federal and state income tax purposes in accordance with Section 81-6-210;
     (10)(f) provisions for income withholding as a means of collecting child support, in accordance with Title 26B, Chapter 9, Part 3, Income Withholding in IV-D Cases, and Title 26B, Chapter 9, Part 4, Income Withholding in Non IV-D Cases; and
     (10)(g) a provision regarding a parent’s opportunity to adjust a child support order as described in Section 81-6-212.
(11) The office shall include the provisions described in Section 26B-9-224 in a child support order.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Part 2 Contents