Utah Code 81-6-204. General provisions for calculating child support — Determination of base combined child support obligation
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(1) To calculate child support, the court or administrative agency shall determine the base combined child support obligation for the parents by:
Terms Used In Utah Code 81-6-204
- 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
- Base combined child support obligation: means the presumed amount of child support that the parents should provide for their child as described in Subsection
81-6-204 (1). See Utah Code 81-6-101 - Base combined child support obligation table: means the appropriate table described in Sections
81-6-302 and81-6-304 . 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 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 Section78A-5-107 or the Utah Rules of Judicial Administration. See Utah Code 81-1-101- Gross income: means the amount of income calculated for a parent as described in Section
81-6-203 . See Utah Code 81-6-101- 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- 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.
- Parent: means a parent with an established parent-child relationship as described in Section
78B-15-201 . See Utah Code 81-1-101- 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
(1)(a) except as provided in Subsection (3), adjusting the average monthly gross income for each parent by subtracting any alimony previously ordered and paid and any child support previously ordered for that parent;(1)(b) adjusting the average monthly gross income for each parent by subtracting any credits deemed appropriate under Subsections81-6-202 (7) and (8);(1)(c) combining the adjusted average monthly gross incomes for both parents; and(1)(d) locating the base combined child support obligation in the base combined child support obligation table by finding:(1)(d)(i) the combined adjusted average monthly gross incomes of the parents in the table; and(1)(d)(ii) the total number of children in common to the parents.(2) The court or administrative agency may only use the income of the parents of the child to determine the base child support award.(3) The court or administrative agency may not subtract any alimony ordered in the pending proceeding from the gross incomes of the parents as described in Subsection (1)(a).(4) If there is no amount listed for the base combined child support obligation in the base combined child support obligation table, the base combined support obligation for the parents is $0.(5) Upon determining the base combined child support obligation, the court or administrative agency shall make additional calculations as described in Section81-6-205 ,81-6-206 , or81-6-207 to determine the base child support award.(6)(6)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (6)(b), the court may consider any amount that an incapacitated adult child can contribute to the child’s support and use the amount to justify a reduction in the amount of support ordered.(6)(b) If the case described in Subsection (6)(a) involves more than one child, the reduction may not be greater than the effect of reducing the total number of children by one.(7)(7)(a) The base combined child support obligation table provides combined child support obligations for up to six children.(7)(b) If a case involves more than six children, the court may add additional amounts to the base child support obligation shown in the base combined child support obligation table.(7)(c) Unless rebutted by Subsection81-6-202 (3), the court or administrative agency may not order an amount less than the amount that would be ordered for up to six children.(8)(8)(a) If the combined adjusted gross income exceeds the highest level specified in the base combined child support obligation table, the court shall order an appropriate and just amount of child support on a case-by-case basis, except that the court may not order an amount that is less than the highest level specified in the table for the number of children due child support.(8)(b) There is no maximum limit on the base child support award that a court may order using the child support tables.(9) The amount shown in a child support table is the child support amount for the total number of children not an amount per child.(10) For all worksheets, income and child support award figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.