CHILD SUPPORT BASICS
The Michigan Child Support Formula is based upon the needs of the child and the actual resources of each parent. The objective is to establish, as accurately as possible, the money a parent should have available for support. There are several steps involved to determine a parent's income for the MCSF program. You can download the MCSF program online here: https://marginsoft.net/DownloadPage.htm.
A. ACTUAL INCOME
The first step in figuring each parent’s support obligation is to determine both parents’ actual individual incomes. Income used to calculate support will not be the same as the parents’ take home pay, net taxable income, or similar terms that describe income for other purposes.[1] The objective is to establish “as accurately as possible, how much money a parent should have available for support.”[2] In other words, “all relevant aspects of a parent’s financial status are open for consideration . . . .”[3] Actual income means all income, not just income gained through employment. The divorce court should consider the parties’ “financial condition” and all “relevant factors.”[4]
B. POTENTIAL INCOME
After determining each parent’s actual income, we must consider whether either has potential income. When the parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, or has an unexercised ability to earn, income must include potential income.[5] The amount imputed “should be sufficient to bring that parent’s income up to the level it would have been if the parent had not voluntarily reduced or waived income.”[6] The Friend of the Court must use relevant factors, including but not limited to:
(a) Prior employment experience and history;
(b) Educational level and any special skills or training;
(c) Physical and mental disabilities that may affect the parent’s work;
(d) Availability of work;
(e) Opportunities in the area;
(f) Prevailing wage rates in the area;
(g) Diligence exercised in seeking work;
(h) Ability to work;
(i) Personal history, including present marital status and means of support;
(j) Impact of children and child support; and
(k) Whether there has been a significant reduction in income.
C. DEVIATION
The third step is to consider deviation. The trial court should consider deviation when the recommended amount is “unjust or inappropriate,”[7] considering:
(a) The child has special needs;
(b) The child has extraordinary educational expenses;
(c) One or both of the parents are minors;
(d) The payor can raise the child’s income above poverty;
(e) Debt;
(f) Property awards in lieu of support;
(g) Incarceration;
(h) Extraordinary medical expenses;
(i) Unaccounted income;
(j) Extraordinary bonuses; and
(k) Health care coverage.
Even this list is not exclusive -- ultimately, the trial court must exercise discretion and consider all relevant facts, the best interest of the child, and the payor’s financial ability.[9]
In other words, a child support calculation is not a rigid application of the MCSF, nor a scavenger hunt through last year’s tax return. “[A] parent’s income does not determine his duty to pay child support. The trial court must take into consideration each parent’s ability to work and earn a living . . . .”[10] Therefore, “it is essential to ensure that any imputation of income is based on an actual ability to earn the income.[11]
[1] MCSF 2.01(A).
[2] MCSF 2.01(B) (emphasis added).
[3] MCSF 2.01(B). See also MCL 552.602(n).
[4] Id. See also Good v Armstrong, 218 Mich App 1; 554 NW2d 14 (1996).
[5] MCSF 2.01(G).
[6] MCSF 2.01(G)(1).
[7] MCL 552.605.
[8] 2008 MCSF 1.04(E).
[9] Burba v Burba, 461 Mich 637; 610 NW2d 873 (2000).
[10] Heilman v Heilman, 95 Mich app 728; 291 NW2d 183 (1980).
[11] Ghiodotti v Barber, 459 Mich 189; 586 NW2d 883 (1998).