The Amount of Support, Cost to CP and NCP, and Tax Benefits

[John Doe]

This is a curiosity for me.

Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs for
the CP and the NCP to support a child?

Obviously the cost to the NCP is on paper (in the court order) for all to
see. Please assume an NCP with 0% visitation: in my case, I stipulated to
paternity and took no demonstrated interest in being part of the child's
life since I was separated by half a globe, but since returning to the U.S.
even to live in the same city as the child, on occasion I have bought a
birthday gift.

Please also consider or factor in the fact that the CP gets all the tax
benefits of having the child.

How are these things reflected in the guidelines of support set by states
for family law judges to follow?

[dC]

"John Doe" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs for
> the CP and the NCP to support a child?

interesting ... that's a good question --- i would assume it would be a
50/50 split but it gets more complicated when you figure in mutually shared
expenses for the kids like housing for one and like you mentioned the tax
situation

if anyone knows the answer on that one, i'd be interested in hearing it too

dC

[teachrmama]

I can tell you that it isn't just an automatic 50/50. My husband's support
order says that he is to pay 85% plus health-dental-vision insurance!

"dC" > wrote in message
...
>
> "John Doe" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs
for
> > the CP and the NCP to support a child?
>
> interesting ... that's a good question --- i would assume it would be a
> 50/50 split but it gets more complicated when you figure in mutually
shared
> expenses for the kids like housing for one and like you mentioned the tax
> situation
>
> if anyone knows the answer on that one, i'd be interested in hearing it
too
>
> dC
>
>

[Bob Whiteside]

"John Doe" > wrote in message
...
> This is a curiosity for me.
>
> Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs for
> the CP and the NCP to support a child?
>
> Obviously the cost to the NCP is on paper (in the court order) for all to
> see. Please assume an NCP with 0% visitation: in my case, I stipulated
to
> paternity and took no demonstrated interest in being part of the child's
> life since I was separated by half a globe, but since returning to the
U.S.
> even to live in the same city as the child, on occasion I have bought a
> birthday gift.
>
> Please also consider or factor in the fact that the CP gets all the tax
> benefits of having the child.
>
> How are these things reflected in the guidelines of support set by states
> for family law judges to follow?

USDA puts out an annual report on Expenditures on Children by Families. It
reports what parents actually report they spend in intact and single
families. The report is used as the basis for the CS income shares model.
While this report is the best information available it only reports what
CP's say they spend. It does not cover what an NCP might spend. Here is
where to find the report:

http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/using2.html

Research reported by Dr. Braver at Arizona State University in his most
recent book indicates nearly 30% of the children's costs travel with the
children. To my knowledge only Arizona has attempted to identify and
consider the NCP costs in their CS guidelines.

[Virginia]

Man those figures are really high. Even deducting the Child Care
expenses from how much they say is spent total, it's twice what I spent
if not more.

Bob Whiteside wrote:
> "John Doe" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>This is a curiosity for me.
>>
>>Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs for
>>the CP and the NCP to support a child?
>>
>>Obviously the cost to the NCP is on paper (in the court order) for all to
>>see. Please assume an NCP with 0% visitation: in my case, I stipulated
>
> to
>
>>paternity and took no demonstrated interest in being part of the child's
>>life since I was separated by half a globe, but since returning to the
>
> U.S.
>
>>even to live in the same city as the child, on occasion I have bought a
>>birthday gift.
>>
>>Please also consider or factor in the fact that the CP gets all the tax
>>benefits of having the child.
>>
>>How are these things reflected in the guidelines of support set by states
>>for family law judges to follow?
>
>
> USDA puts out an annual report on Expenditures on Children by Families. It
> reports what parents actually report they spend in intact and single
> families. The report is used as the basis for the CS income shares model.
> While this report is the best information available it only reports what
> CP's say they spend. It does not cover what an NCP might spend. Here is
> where to find the report:
>
> http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/using2.html
>
> Research reported by Dr. Braver at Arizona State University in his most
> recent book indicates nearly 30% of the children's costs travel with the
> children. To my knowledge only Arizona has attempted to identify and
> consider the NCP costs in their CS guidelines.
>
>

[Bob Whiteside]

"Virginia" > wrote in message
et...
> Man those figures are really high. Even deducting the Child Care
> expenses from how much they say is spent total, it's twice what I spent
> if not more.

That's why the fathers complain about the level of CS awards based on this
data. The two largest expenditures, housing and transportation, are based
on marginal expenditures. That means the more expensive the mortgage or
rent, and the more expensive the car payments and insurance, the more can be
allocated to the children. A CP mother of two is allowed to allocate 2/3 of
her housing and transportation expenditures to the cost of raising children.

Stated another way, the CP mother's expenses are considered equal to those
of a child. Practically, almost anyone would agree it takes more money to
support an adult than to support a child, but that is not the logic behind
these expenditures that are used for setting CS guidelines. The "experts"
claim they make "adjustments" for these factors, but they do not publish
anything definitive about what they do or how they do it.

The other flaw is healthcare and child care expenses are included in the
numbers, but for CS award calculations these expense categories are add-on
amounts. That means CS awards for healthcare and child care are paid
twice - once in the base award and a second time as an add-on amount.

[Mel Gamble]

>Man those figures are really high. Even deducting the Child Care
>expenses from how much they say is spent total, it's twice what I spent
>if not more.

And isn't it distressing to think how many Federal and State programs are based
on those numbers? And not just those focused on NCP's but also the ones we ALL
pay for.

Mel Gamble

>Bob Whiteside wrote:
>> "John Doe" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>This is a curiosity for me.
>>>
>>>Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs for
>>>the CP and the NCP to support a child?
>>>
>>>Obviously the cost to the NCP is on paper (in the court order) for all to
>>>see. Please assume an NCP with 0% visitation: in my case, I stipulated
>>
>> to
>>
>>>paternity and took no demonstrated interest in being part of the child's
>>>life since I was separated by half a globe, but since returning to the
>>
>> U.S.
>>
>>>even to live in the same city as the child, on occasion I have bought a
>>>birthday gift.
>>>
>>>Please also consider or factor in the fact that the CP gets all the tax
>>>benefits of having the child.
>>>
>>>How are these things reflected in the guidelines of support set by states
>>>for family law judges to follow?
>>
>>
>> USDA puts out an annual report on Expenditures on Children by Families. It
>> reports what parents actually report they spend in intact and single
>> families. The report is used as the basis for the CS income shares model.
>> While this report is the best information available it only reports what
>> CP's say they spend. It does not cover what an NCP might spend. Here is
>> where to find the report:
>>
>> http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/using2.html
>>
>> Research reported by Dr. Braver at Arizona State University in his most
>> recent book indicates nearly 30% of the children's costs travel with the
>> children. To my knowledge only Arizona has attempted to identify and
>> consider the NCP costs in their CS guidelines.
>>
>>
>
>

[Mel Gamble]

>Man those figures are really high. Even deducting the Child Care
>expenses from how much they say is spent total, it's twice what I spent
>if not more.

And isn't it distressing to think how many Federal and State programs are based
on those numbers? And not just those focused on NCP's but also the ones we ALL
pay for.

Mel Gamble

>Bob Whiteside wrote:
>> "John Doe" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>This is a curiosity for me.
>>>
>>>Does anyone have knowledge/web links/etc about just how much it costs for
>>>the CP and the NCP to support a child?
>>>
>>>Obviously the cost to the NCP is on paper (in the court order) for all to
>>>see. Please assume an NCP with 0% visitation: in my case, I stipulated
>>
>> to
>>
>>>paternity and took no demonstrated interest in being part of the child's
>>>life since I was separated by half a globe, but since returning to the
>>
>> U.S.
>>
>>>even to live in the same city as the child, on occasion I have bought a
>>>birthday gift.
>>>
>>>Please also consider or factor in the fact that the CP gets all the tax
>>>benefits of having the child.
>>>
>>>How are these things reflected in the guidelines of support set by states
>>>for family law judges to follow?
>>
>>
>> USDA puts out an annual report on Expenditures on Children by Families. It
>> reports what parents actually report they spend in intact and single
>> families. The report is used as the basis for the CS income shares model.
>> While this report is the best information available it only reports what
>> CP's say they spend. It does not cover what an NCP might spend. Here is
>> where to find the report:
>>
>> http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/using2.html
>>
>> Research reported by Dr. Braver at Arizona State University in his most
>> recent book indicates nearly 30% of the children's costs travel with the
>> children. To my knowledge only Arizona has attempted to identify and
>> consider the NCP costs in their CS guidelines.
>>
>>
>
>