Are You Owed Child Support?

Did you know the State of Mississippi has established guidelines regarding the amount of child support your child is entitled to?

Mississippi Code Annotated § 43-19-101 sets forth the Child support award guidelines as follows:

(1) The following child support award guidelines shall be a rebuttable presumption in all judicial or administrative proceedings regarding the awarding or modifying of child support awards in this state:
Number Of Children Percentage Of Adjusted Gross Income
Due Support That Should Be Awarded For Support

1: 14%
2: 20%
3: 22%
4: 24%
5 or more: 26%

In order to determine the amount of "adjusted gross income", you must first determine gross income from all potential sources that may reasonably be expected to be available to the absent parent including, but not limited to, the following: wages and salary income; income from self-employment; income from commissions; income from investments including dividends, interest income and income on any trust account or property; the absent parent's portion of any joint income of both parents; workers' compensation, disability, unemployment, annuity and retirement benefits including an individual retirement account (IRA); any other payments made by any person, private entity, federal or state government or any unit of local government; alimony; any income earned from an interest in or from inherited property; any other form of earned income; and gross income shall exclude any monetary benefits derived from a second household, such as income of the absent parent's current spouse. However, there are some legally mandated deductions such as: Federal, state and local taxes; Social security contributions; Retirement and disability contributions, except any voluntary retirement and disability contributions. If the absent parent is subject to an existing court order for another child or children, subtract the amount of that court-ordered support. If the absent parent is also the parent of another child or other children residing with him, then the court may subtract an amount that it deems appropriate to account for the needs of said child or children. Once all income is added and all deductions are accounted for, the final number should be divided by twelve (12) to obtain the monthly amount of “adjusted gross income.” Finally, multiply the adjusted gross income by the proper percentage, depending on the number of children, this figure will be the proper amount of monthly child support award.
Keep in mind the Court has discretion to modify this amount and there are other factors the Court may consider, but this calculation does provide a legitimate gauge as to the amount of child support your children deserve.
Collecting the child support your children deserve can be frustrating and often times leave you feeling helpless. Where others have failed, we succeed. Stop waiting for your child support and call us today to set up your free initial consultation.

Justin Jones Attorney at Law, PLLC
JustinJonesLaw.com
601-499-LAW2 (5292)

*The information contained herein does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.