Kansas

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

Kansas uses the "income share" method for calculating child support payments, which is designed to ensure that both the custodial and non-custodial parents contribute to their child's upkeep.

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

If the appropriate amount of support under the Kansas child support guidelines cannot be calculated due to any facts not proven by evidence, the court will apply one or more of the following:

• Both parents have only gross earned income equal to 40 hours per week at the federal minimum wage then in effect



• neither parent's income is subject to adjustment for any reason



• the number of children is as alleged in the petition



• the age of each child is as alleged in the petition or, if unknown, is between seven and 15 years



• no adjustment for child care, health or dental insurance or income tax exemption is appropriate



• neither parent is entitled to any other credit or adjustment.

• A parent will contest the amount of support resulting from application of the guidelines



• the parent is or may be entitled to an adjustment pursuant to the guidelines



• it is in the child's best interests to resolve the support issue promptly and with minimal hostility, the county or district attorney may enter into a stipulation with the parent as to the amount of child support for that parent.

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

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.

Kansas 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 Kansas?

Unlike most states, Kansas has no special provisions for extraordinary medical costs in their child support guidelines. The cost of medical care is lumped in to other costs of providing for the child when child support calculations are being made.

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

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

Kansas 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 Kansas?

While the state of Kansas 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 Kansas?

In the state of Kansas, 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 Kansas welfare benefits, or other collection methods.

How are child support payments taxed in Kansas?

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