Delaware

Child Support Laws

Child support is an ongoing payment by a non-custodial parent to assist with the financial support of their children. Child support payments are often determined during the process of dissolution of a marriage through divorce, though the only requirements for requesting child support payments are establishment of paternity and maternity.

Child support is handled on a state level, and Delaware has a set of specific child support guidelines. On this page you can learn about how child support is calculated in Delaware, how custody split and extraordinary costs affect child support payments, and more.

In the event of parents sharing custody of a child, the Delaware judge who sets child support may deviate from the basic child support formula to account for this. Other special situations accounted for under Delaware's child support law include childcare costs and extraordinary medical costs. These costs may be additions to the basic Delaware child support order.

In a proceeding for divorce/annulment, the Court can, on request of either party, equitably divide, distribute and assign the marital property between parties without regard to marital misconduct, in such proportions as the Court deems just after considering all relevant factors including:

• The length of the marriage



• Any prior marriage of the party



• The age, health, station, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties



• Whether the property award is in lieu of or in addition to alimony



• The opportunity of each for future acquisitions of capital assets and income



• The contribution or dissipation of each party in the acquisition, preservation, depreciation or appreciation of the marital property, including the contribution of a party as homemaker, husband, or wife



• The value of the property set apart to each party



• The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property is to become effective, including the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live therein for reasonable periods to the party with whom any children of the marriage will live



• Whether the property was acquired by gift, except those gifts excluded by paragraph of this section



• The debts of the parties



• Tax consequences

Child support can be arranged out of court by a mutual support agreement between the parents, or can be decided in Delaware family court through a child support order. In Delaware, 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.

How does having shared custody of the child affect child support in Delaware?

All states have a method of modifying the amount of child support owed in cases where the custody agreement provides for joint or shared custody of a child between both parents.

Delaware law allows the judge overseeing the child support order to use a shared custody agreement as justification for a variation from the state's general child support calculations. This means that if the non-custodial parent shares parenting time with the custodial parent, the judge might reduce the amount of child support owed to account for the resources spent by the non-custodial parent during their time with the child.

How are extraordinary medical costs treated by child support in Delaware?

Delaware 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.

Delaware 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.

How are child care costs treated by child support in Delaware?

Due to the high costs of child care for a single payment, Delaware 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.

Delaware 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.

Does child support cover college education expenses in Delaware?

While the state of Delaware 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.

How is child support enforced in Delaware?

In the state of Delaware, 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.

What are 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 Delaware welfare benefits, or other collection methods.

How are child support payments taxed in Delaware?

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. Delaware tax law may vary on tax treatment of child support.