Law Office of Linda K. Howerton219 W. 15th Street
Wellington, KS 67152
(620) 326-3774
Every parent is obligated to provide for their child's financial needs. However, the residential parent pays the child's direct expenses, so there would not be an order for a specific child support amount. The non-residential parent can be Court ordered to pay a specific amount of support.
Kansas Courts have child support guidelines from which child support is calculated. The factors involved include the number and ages of the children, both parent's income, the cost of providing health insurance and who claims them for taxes. In addition, sometimes special educational or health needs of the children are considered and whether the payer supports other children.
In Kansas, child support is normally payable until the child reaches 18 years old or the next June 30 if the child's 18th birthday occurs while the child is attending high school. The obligation to pay child support may, by agreement between the parties, be continued beyond the age of majority to cover such matters as educational expenses in college and the like, but such an obligation cannot be imposed by the Court without the agreement of the parties. If your child is over 18, but child support continues to be removed from your paycheck contact Linda K. Howerton to get the income withholding order stopped.
The parents cannot make an agreement for no child support to be paid. It is the child's right to be supported and the Court will protect this right, despite an agreement between the parents that no child support shall be paid.
The child support obligation can be established or enforced by the Court if payments are not made. A petition or motion to the Court would need to be made. Linda K. Howerton can help you with this process.
The residential parent does not have the right to deny the parenting time simply because you have not made child support payments or may be behind in the payments. Denial of access to the children should not be used as a lever to enforce a financial obligation which exists between the parents. Contact Linda K. Howerton to discuss your options to enforce your parenting time.