How to Figure Child Support in Alabama
- 1). Download Alabama Court Form CS-42, which is the worksheet for calculating support. The court utilizes this worksheet to calculate child support.
- 2). Supply the monthly gross income for both the custodial and noncustodial parents. The gross income is the total amount of money earned each month before taxes and deductions. Write each amount in Line 1 of the worksheet.
- 3). Deduct child support or alimony obligations. If you have preexisting obligations, Alabama law allows you to deduct these payments in Line 1a.
- 4). Add the sums of both parents' gross earnings. In Line 2, write down the sum after deducting any previous payments included in Line 1a.
- 5). Determine the percentage of shared income by taking the combined income listed in Line 2 and dividing it by each party's adjusted gross income. Write the result in line 3 of the worksheet.
- 6). Calculates the basic child support obligation. The Appendix to Rule 32 contains a table which lists the income range in rows and the number of children involved in columns. Line up the row and column to determine the support obligation for each parent.
- 7). List work-related childcare expenses. Any daycare expenses incurred by the custodial parent in order to work are written in Line 5. Health insurance payments for the child are listed in Line 6.
- 8). Add line 5 and 6 to the basic support obligation in Line 4. Write the result on Line 7. The amount is the total child support obligation each parent owes to the child.
- 9). Determine the noncustodial parent's obligation, by multiplying Line 7 by each parent's percentage of the combined gross income. Enter the result on Line 8. On Line 9, any adjustments for health insurance costs are added. If the noncustodial parent pays for health insurance, the cost is deducted from the monthly support obligation. Add the insurance amount to the support obligation if the custodial parent pays for the health insurance. The result is entered on line 10. This is the amount the noncustodial parent will likely be required to pay.
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