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Wendell L. Belknap
411 5th Street
Oregon City, OR 97045

Tel: 503-657-8946
Fax: 503-655-2775

Email Wendell
wendell@belknaplaw.com

Website:
www.belknaplaw.com

Child Support


The state of Oregon has established a formula to determine an amount the court will presume to be appropriate for child support. This is known as the Child Support Guidelines. The amount of child support presumed by application of the Child Support Guidelines must be the amount ordered by the court, unless the parties meet one of the limited exceptions to deviate from the amount determined by the Child Support Guidelines. If you do, then the court can, and generally will order a different amount. The formula is located on the state's website at www.justice.oregon.gov. The formula takes into account many factors, which are primarily:

  1. Number of joint children;
  2. Number of non-joint children for each parent;
  3. Spousal support paid and spousal support received;
  4. Gross monthly income of each party;
  5. Social Security and Veteran's benefits received for the benefit of joint children;
  6. Number of overnight visits each child spends with each parent;
  7. Cost of providing health insurance for the benefit of joint children;
  8. Uninsured and recurring medical expenses for joint children that exceed $250 per year; and
  9. Cost of providing child care for the benefit of joint children.

It may be difficult for a non-lawyer to run the calculation correctly. At the same time, it may be helpful and informative to run the formula on your own to see the effects of changing the variables. Ultimately, it is advisable to have an attorney confirm the support calculation. Please contact me if you would like to discuss a child support matter.