Kansas has state guidelines that are used by judges to determine how much child support to order in support cases. While the judges are required to use these guidelines, there is no simple formula that applies to every case. Judges must look at the facts and circumstances of each case and arrive at a child support decision that is fair and equitable to both the children and parents. Accordingly, it is hard to accurately predict how much a parent will owe in Kansas child support. But it is possible to get an estimate by plugging in the relevant information into a Kansas child support calculator.
The Kansas judicial courts release child support schedules that are based on the state guidelines. Unlike most states, there are specific differences between children of different ages. As of 2010, there are three age groups for child support in Kansas – 0 to 5, 6 to 11 and 12 to 18. The amount of support goes up slightly as the child gets older. The actual amount of support also depends mainly on the combined monthly income of both parents. In other words, not just one parent shoulders the burden of raising a Kansas child. Rather both parents must take part in the financial responsibilities.
Before using a Kansas child support calculator, you should check out the latest support schedule to get a rough idea of what a parent owes. You can see a link to the proper schedule at the time of this writing. But if that link changes, you should go to the courts website (see Resources) to find the most current schedule.
Note on Using the Schedule:
The schedule provides the most accurate information on Kansas child support guidelines and laws, but it is not a calculator. So you will have to do some of the math by yourself. To figure out what one parent owes, look up the total parental income, the age of the child and the amount due. This is the TOTAL amount for both parents, not just the noncustodial parent. To estimate what that parent will owe, multiply the total support by that parent’s percentage of the combined parental income. For example, if the amount due is $100 where the father makes 50% of the money, then the father would owe about half of that, which is $50. This will at least give you a rough idea.
To get a bit more specific, you can then use the AllLaw child support calculator. While this calculator is not perfect, it will crunch other relevant data, such as the medical and childcare expenses being paid by each parent, to try to determine what the noncustodial parent owes. However, this calculator (as well as the schedules above), assume sole or primary custody. In cases of joint custody, there is not a noncustodial parent per se. But there is one parent that generally owes more than the other based on their relative incomes. This tends to lower the Kansas child support payments for the parent who has to pay because he or she receives credit for that custody or parenting time.
Resources:
Kansas Child Support Schedule
Kansas Judicial Courts Website
AllLaw Kansas Child Support Calculator
