If you pay or receive child support, you might be surprised at what happens when the residential parent’s income increases. You might expect that if the residential parent’s income goes up, the nonresidential parent’s child support obligation would go down. Sometimes, though, the opposite occurs.

Suppose the children with live primarily with their mother. If their mother gets a raise, their father might owe more child support, even though their father’s income stayed the same.

How can this happen? Kansas law calculates child support by determining each parent’s percentage of the total income available for your children. If either parent’s income increases, the total available for the children also increases.

So, if the residential parent’s income increases, the resources available for the children also increase. The nonresidential parent then shares a smaller percentage of a greater whole. Consequently, the nonresidential parent’s child support obligation might increase even though his income stayed the same.

Child support may be adjusted at least every three years, or more often if the amount changes by more than ten percent. No matter whose income changes, you should contact an attorney to recalculate your child support.