HB1197 (2010) Detail

Relative to child support in cases of shared parenting.


HB 1197 – AS INTRODUCED

2010 SESSION

10-2266

05/09

HOUSE BILL 1197

AN ACT relative to child support in cases of shared parenting.

SPONSORS: Rep. Bickford, Straf 3

COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law

ANALYSIS

This bill revises the child support formula in cases of shared parenting where the parents have equal or substantially equal residential responsibility.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

10-2266

05/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten

AN ACT relative to child support in cases of shared parenting.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Child Support Guidelines; Minimum Support Order. Amend RSA 458-C:2, V to read as follows:

V. “Minimum support order” means an order of support equal to $50 per month, unless the court determines that a lesser amount is appropriate under the particular circumstances of the case. There shall be no minimum support if both parents have an equal child support obligation, as provided in RSA 458-C:3, II-a.

2 New Paragraph; Application of Guidelines; Calculation of Child Support in Cased of Shared Parenting. Amend RSA 458-C:3 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

II-a.(a) In the case of equal or nearly equal residential responsibility as determined by the parenting plan adopted pursuant to RSA 461-A:4, the child support obligation shall be determined in a separate calculation for each parent. The parent with the greater annual child support obligation shall be designated as the obligor, and the child support owed to the other parent shall be based on the obligor’s annual child support obligation less the annual child support obligation of the other parent. If both parents have an equal annual child support obligation, no child support payment shall be ordered by the court. For purposes of this paragraph, equal or nearly equal residential responsibility means each parent has residential responsibility for between 165 and 183 nights per year.

(b) If the parent with the lesser residential responsibility has such responsibility for more than 109 but less than 165 nights, the child support obligation shall be determined in a separate calculation for each parent by multiplying each parent’s annual net income, as defined in RSA 458-C:2, VI, by the appropriate percentage derived from this section, divided by 365.25, then multiplied by the number of days within the year that the other parent has residential responsibility for the dependent child or children, as specified in the court-approved parenting plan, if any. The parent with the greater annual child support obligation shall be designated as the obligor, and the child support owed to the other parent shall be based on the obligor’s annual child support obligation less the annual child support obligation of the other parent. If both parents have an equal annual child support obligation, no child support payment shall be ordered by the court.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2011.