Source: https://www.maritallaws.com/states/rhode-island/child-support
Timestamp: 2020-06-03 03:11:10
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Rhode Island Child Support Laws - Support Calculation, Enforcement, and More
Rhode Island Child Support Guide :: Table of Contents
Rhode Island Child Support FAQ
Rhode Island Child Support Law Text
Child support is handled on a state level, and Rhode Island has a set of specific child support guidelines. On this page you can learn about how child support is calculated in Rhode Island, how custody split and extraordinary costs affect child support payments, and more.
Rhode Island Child Support Court Considerations Table
Rhode Island Child Support Law Summary
Rhode Island uses the "income share" method for calculating child support payments, which is designed to ensure that both the custodial and non-custodial parents contribute to their child's upkeep.
Rhode Island's child support formula directly accounts for parents who share custody of a child, and support payment amounts are connected to the custody split. Other special situations accounted for under Rhode Island's child support law include childcare costs and extraordinary medical costs. These costs may be additions to the basic Rhode Island child support order.
To determine if an appointment should be made, the court will consider the extent to which a guardian might assist in providing information concerning:
the parent's financial resources
the nature of the proceeding (level of contentiousness)
whether or not there are allegations of child/domestic abuse
the risk of harm to the child if a guardian is not appointed
conflicts of interest between the child, parents, or siblings
The guardian ad litem will be appointed from a list of persons properly credentialed to administrative orders of the court
The court will enter an order of appointment stating the specific assignment, the optional/mandatory duties of the guardian ad litem, the guardian's access to the child, and confidential information regarding the child, and a provision for payment of the costs and fees of the guardian ad litem
Communications made to a guardian, including those made by a child, are not privileged and may or may not be disclosed to the parties, the court or to professionals providing services to the child or the family
The guardian ad litem will meet with the child, conduct an investigation, and upon request of the court will prepare an oral or written report containing the background of the case, identification of all persons interviewed, and other sources of information. A statement of the child's emotional, medical, educational and social service needs, the child's wishes and other factors relevant to the court's determination regarding the best interests of the child
Any written report of the guardian ad litem will be marked as a full exhibit in the proceedings, and are subject to cross-examination
If the guardian ad litem requests confidential health care information and consent is withheld, they can apply to the court for leave to obtain such information
The guardian ad litem will be given notice of and should appear at all proceedings in court that affect the child
A person serving as a guardian ad litem acts as the court's agent and is entitled to quasi-judicial immunity for acts performed within the scope of the duties of the guardian ad litem
The chief judge of the family court can issue rules governing the appointment and performance of guardians ad litem in domestic proceedings.
After calculating support based upon court established formula and guidelines, if the court, in its discretion, finds the order would be inequitable to the child or either parent, the court can make findings of fact and can order either or both parents owing a duty of support to pay an amount reasonable or necessary for the child's support after considering all relevant factors such as:
The physical and emotional condition of the child and their educational needs
In any proceeding for support, or in any case in which an obligor owes past due support, for a child receiving public assistance, the court, upon a finding that an able bodied parent obligor is unemployed, underemployed or lacks sufficient income or resources from which to make payment of support equal to the public assistance payment for the child or children, or is unable to pay in accordance with a payment plan, may order that parent to perform unpaid community service for at least 20 hours per week through community service placements arranged and supervised by the department of human services or to participate in any work activities that the court decides is appropriate.
Rhode Island Child Support Calculation Formula Methods
Child support can be arranged out of court by a mutual support agreement between the parents, or can be decided in Rhode Island family court through a child support order. In Rhode Island, a number of factors are taken into account when determining the amount of child support to be paid in court. Here is an explanation of the two most common methods used to calculate basic child support amounts.
Rhode Island does use the income share method to calculate child support
Rhode Island does not use the percentage of income method to calculate child support
Rhode Island Child Support Frequently Asked Questions
How does having shared custody of the child affect child support in Rhode Island?
How are extraordinary medical costs treated by child support in Rhode Island?
How are child care costs treated by child support in Rhode Island?
Does child support cover college education expenses in Rhode Island?
How is child support enforced in Rhode Island?
How are child support payments taxed in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island law accounts for shared custody of a child directly in the child support formula used to calculate payment amounts. This means that, in cases where custody is shared, the amount of child support paid by the paying parent will be reduced according to the amount of time they have custody of the child.
Rhode Island has specialized guidelines for the sharing of a child's extraordinary medical care costs that are separate from, and in addition to, basic child support payments. Extraordinary medical costs are generally costs generated by things such as illness, hospital visits, or costly procedures such as getting braces.
Rhode Island treats extraordinary medical care costs as a "mandatory deduction" for basic child support. This means that if the non-custodial parent pays child care costs, the portion of the total monthly child care costs attributed to the custodial partner are deducted from the noncustodial partner's monthly child support payment. If the custodial parent pays for child care, the non-custodial parent must pay their share in addition to basic child support.
Due to the high costs of child care for a single payment, Rhode Island has specialized guidelines that consider child care costs separately from the general costs of raising a child for the purposes of calculating child support payments.
Rhode Island treats child care costs as a "mandatory deduction" for basic child support. This means that if the non-custodial parent pays child care costs, the portion of the total monthly child care costs attributed to the custodial partner are deducted from the noncustodial partner's monthly child support payment. If the custodial parent pays for child care, the non-custodial parent must pay their share in addition to basic child support.
While the state of Rhode Island has no explicit requirement for college expenses to be covered under child support, support for college expense by the non-custodial parent may be voluntarily agreed to by both parties, after which it is contractually enforceable.
In the state of Rhode Island, child support is enforced by the state child support agency. The state agency handles the location of non-custodial parents, enforcement of support orders, and the handling of unpaid child support arrears.
Child support arrears are the amount of child support that is delinquent, or unpaid, by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent. Child support arrears may be collected by the state through wage garnishment, bank levy. withholding of Rhode Island welfare benefits, or other collection methods.
Under IRS guidelines, the recepient of child support does not need to pay federal tax on child support payments, and the payer of child support cannot deduct their child support payments. This differs from the federal taxation of alimony payments, which are treated as taxable income by the receiver and are deductible by the payor. Rhode Island tax law may vary on tax treatment of child support.
R.I. GEN. LAWS § 15-5-16.2
§ 15-5-16.2 Child support.
(c)(1) The court may, if in its discretion it deems it necessary or advisable, appoint an attorney or a guardian ad litem to represent the interest of a minor or dependent child with respect to his or her support, custody, and visitation.
(2) After a decree for support has been entered, the court may from time to time upon the petition of either party review and alter its decree relative to the amount of support and the payment of it, and may make any decree relative to it which it might have made in the original suit. The decree may be made retroactive in the court's discretion only to the date that notice of a petition to modify was given to the adverse party if the court finds that a substantial change in circumstances has occurred; provided, that the court shall set forth in its decision the specific findings of fact which show a substantial change in circumstances and upon which findings of facts the court has decided to make the decree retroactive. The child support order shall continue in full force and effect, by wage withholding, after the youngest child is emancipated, and shall be applied towards any arrearage due and owing, as indicated on the child support computer system. Upon satisfaction of the arrears due and owing the child support order shall be automatically suspended and wage withholding terminated without the necessity of returning to family court.
(d)(1) In a proceeding to enforce a child support order, or a spousal support order for a custodial parent having custody of a minor child, the court or its magistrate may assign to the obligee such tangible personal property of the obligor that will be sufficient to satisfy the child or spousal support arrearage owed. The court or its magistrate, after a hearing, shall establish the amount of the child or spousal support arrearage, and the nature and value of the tangible personal property. To effect the assignment, the court or its magistrate may order the obligor to execute and deliver the documents of title which may be necessary to complete the transfer of title to the property, and may order the obligor to deliver possession of the property to the obligee. Whenever the obligor fails to comply with the order assigning the property, the order of assignment shall be regarded as a judgment vesting title to the property in the obligor as fully and completely as if the obligor had executed and delivered the documents of title.
(g)(1) In any proceeding to establish support for a minor child whose adjudicated parent is a minor (minor-parent), the court or its magistrate may order a grandparent of the minor child to reimburse the department of human services in an amount not to exceed the total amount of cash assistance benefits paid to or for the minor child pursuant to chapter 5.1 of title 40 until the minor-parent reaches the age of eighteen (18), less any payment made to the department by the minor parent.
(h)(1) All support orders established or modified in the state on or after October 1, 1998, shall be recorded with the Rhode Island family court department of human services child support computer enforcement system, which maintains the official registry of support orders entered in accordance with applicable administrative orders issued by the Rhode Island family court. The support order shall be recorded whether or not services are being provided under the IV-D state plan.
(P.L. 1979, ch. 279, § 2; P.L. 1981, ch. 320, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 167, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 281, § 2; P.L. 1985, ch. 202, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 374, § 2; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 29, § 4; P.L. 1995, ch. 374, § 4; P.L. 1996, ch. 129, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 131, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 132, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 133, § 2; P.L. 1997, ch. 170, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 370, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 390, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 417, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 442, § 8; P.L. 2001, ch. 155, § 1; P.L. 2002, ch. 314, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 278, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 348, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 62, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 66, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 95, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 102, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 208, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 233, § 1.)
Source: http://www.maritallaws.com/states/rhode-island/child-support