Introduction
Child support is the attempt by the legislature to provide financial balance for children who grow up with one parent only. Child support is informed by the fact that all parents have the legal duty of supporting their children. Usually, a court orders a parent to support her or his child until the child attains the age of 18 years. The parent who does not have custody of the child (obligor) pays for child support. The question of which factors child support should be based on is common in family law. This paper supports the argument that child support should be based on the father’s salary and not the child’s needs.
The first reason why child support should be based on the father’s salary and not the child’s needs is that the father (obligor) should not be made by law to provide what he cannot afford. The need and requirements of the child should be a function of available income. This is because if the father were still living with the child, the child would have to make do with what the father could afford. The court should find a way to establish the father’s earnings and the proportion which must be allocated to the child (Garfinkel, Melli & Robertson, 2004).
Secondly, child support should be based on income of the father because it is difficult to establish “reasonable need” of the child. This difficulty may result in over-exploitation of the father by the mother in cases where child’s needs are over-quoted. Reasonable need should not include any gifts such as birthday presents that the father used to provide the child with before the divorce (Garfinkel, Melli & Robertson, 2004).
Thirdly, basing the child support on the income of the father allows the child to benefit when the income of the father increases. This is what would normally happen if the father were still living with their child. On the other hand, if the income level of the father decreases or if they lose their job, they will be required to pay what they can afford (Rivers, 2011). This method is appropriate because it mimics what would happen if the father were still living with the child.
The fourth reason why the child support should be based on father’s income is that it avoids conflict between the custodial parent (oblige) and the obligor as a result of the changing needs of the child. The child’s needs keep on changing as the child grows old. This means that if the child support contributions were to be based on the child’s needs, they would change more frequently than if they were to be based on income of the father. In addition, the amount of child support required is bound to increase at a rate which is not clear. Using the percentage of income approach eliminates the ambiguity that may arise with these increases.
Conclusion
Child support should be based on the father’s income rather than the needs of the child because of four reasons. First, the father (obligor) should not be made by law to provide what he cannot afford. Second, it is difficult to establish “reasonable need” of the child. This may expose the father to exploitation. Thirdly, the child is bound to benefit due to an increased child support contribution if the father’s income increases. This is what would happen if the father were still living with the child. Fourth, the conflicts and ambiguities that may arise with changing needs of the child (as the child grows older) are eliminated.
References
Garfinkel, I., Melli, M. S., & Robertson, J. G. (2004). Child Support Guidelines: Income Shares and Percentage of Income. Children and divorce, 4(1), 1-10.
Rivers, R. J. (2011). Child support orders in high income cases. Lawyers Journal. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.massbar.org/publications/lawyers-journal/2011/march/child-support-orders-in-high-income--cases-%E2%80%94-searching-for-guidelines
